Review: Before The Devil Knows You're Dead

Don't be fooled by the jolly poster, Before The devil Knows You're Dead is a dark, twisted tragedy, anchored by three terrific performances from its male leads: Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke and Albert Finney.

Hoffman and Hawke are brothers; they're at different ends of the social spectrum but both have unhappy lives and both need money. The former is the older bully, the latter the younger failure. In an attempt to get themselves out of their debts, Hoffman concocts the perfect, 'victimless' crime - the very thought of the crime is awful and automatically sets the audience against the brothers. Needless to say, the job is botched and the tragic fall-out affects just about every character in the film.

I can describe nothing more about the plot without giving away the sickening twist - which is deployed very early. Director Sidney Lumet employs cross-cuts and flash-backs to tell the story 21 Grams-style, serving to sicken the audience even further as the brothers sink ever lower. That they drag everyone around them down with them will come as no surprise.

Despite the many twists and turns of the plot, the characters and their motivations remain largely believable. Lumet's withering gaze on the brothers is unflinching. The conclusion is not entirely satisfying with at least one loose thread, but I'm prepared to forgive the film that.

The three male leads are backed by a fine female cast: Marisa Tomei (strangely cast), Amy Ryan (as excellent as ever) and Rosemary Harris (in a ballsy cameo). But ultimately this is about the male characters: their motivations are entirely drawn from their relationships with each other. All three are culpable for the tragedy that ensues, all three are driven to desperation.

This is a grimly fascinating story - and Lumet's best film for nearly 30 years.
Score: 7.5/10

IMDb