Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
by Sidney Lumet
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Before the Devil Knows You're DeadPublisher: ThinkFilm
Salesrank: 137
Released: 2008-04-15
Theatrical-Release: 2007
List Price: $27.98
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Media: DVD
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Customer Reviews:
Huge Disappointment (2008-05-05)
Warning: Review full of spoilers

I am a huge admirer of Sidney Lumet’s work, and I had heard great things about this film. But I was severely disappointed.

Here are some of the problems with the film:

1. The pace of the film is very slow.

2. The flash back/ flash forward technique was not needed in this film. I think it would have been richer if it had been made in a linear fashion. This would have made the pace a bit faster, and also would have allowed more time to have Andy convince Hank to do the robbery. This was done quickly and not convincingly.

3. There is not a single likable character in this film. They are all horrible themselves and to each other. Even with a hugely talented actor like Philip Seymour Hoffman portraying a tortured soul, emotionally abused by his father; I felt no sympathy for him.

Watching this film, I got the feeling that it got derailed at some point. The premise, actors, director, were all good. It could have been a powerful and heart-wrenching depiction of a totally dysfunctional family. It tried to be this, but it just failed. Too dark and depressing. Too slow and distant.

I gave it 2 stars for the strong performances by Hoffman, Hawke, Tomei and Finney. If you like any of them, you can watch this film to see their talent, but don’t expect much from the film.

Desperation Begets More Desperation, and Then Some. (2008-05-02)
“May you be in heaven half an hour…before the Devil knows you’re dead.” Thus begins the 45th film of Sidney Lumet’s 60-year directing career, a New York crime drama with an intimate feel and a gamut of emotions. Andy Hanson (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is an upper-middle class executive living beyond his means. His brother Hank (Ethan Hawke) is a working class divorcé with burdensome child support payments. They both need money in a hurry. The cooler Andy cajoles the malleable Hank into robbing their parents suburban jewelry store. And one disaster leads to another.

“Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” shows us the robbery first, then jumps back in time to what led to it. The mystery is not who committed the crime, but why. We see the days leading up to the robbery more than once, but nothing is actually repeated, as we are seeing events from different perspectives. Then it is forward in time, to the aftermath. The story is told through conversations in closed spaces, which create an accelerating sense of the world caving in on Andy and Hank, a downward spiral from which they try to escape with increasing desperation.

Sidney Lumet was quick to label this film a “melodrama”, and if viewers take it any other way, credibility will be strained. People tend to think of melodrama as something that goes over the top, leaving the audience either laughing or dozing off out of incredulity. That’s melodrama done badly. I’m a huge fan of the crime thrillers and murder dramas of the 1940s that came to be known as “film noir”. They’re about extremes of behavior. Pure melodrama. They succeeded because they were introverted, and the actors emoted as little as possible. They barely moved their facial muscles.

Ever since more histrionic styles of acting came into fashion in the 1970s, melodrama has been a risky undertaking. Bizarre behavior and emoting are a dicey combination. Performances can easily slip into the realm of the ridiculous. This happens a few times in “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead”, but the mundanity always overcomes the melodrama. The film grounds itself in constant reminders of just how mundane it all is. The score and all the little middle class details tell us how ordinary these lives are, even as they are flipping out. So we can enjoy the fireworks without questioning the behavior.

The DVD (ThinkFilm 2008): There is a featurette, a theatrical trailer, and an audio commentary. ‘”Directed by Sidney Lumet: How the Devil Was Made” (24 min) interviews Sidney Lumet, actors Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, and Marisa Tomei, and producers Michael Cerenzie and Brian Linse, about the script, melodrama, Lumet’s directing style and rehearsal process. The feature commentary is with Sidney Lumet, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Ethan Hawke. In a friendly tone, they discuss shooting in HD, working with familiar New York actors, casting, and provide some scene-by-scene commentary. Subtitles are available for the film in English SDH and Spanish.Who would have thought that Ethan Hawke could act? (2008-04-28)
I have to say I was very suprised. He was very good in this movie. Hoffman was excellent, and I have to say it was a pleasure seeing Albert Finney, (remember, Audry Hepburn and he in “Two for the Road” or “Daddy Warbucks” in “Annie”) topping his career with a stellar performance as the grief stricken husband. All the actors did a fine job in their roles. Highly recommended.Top-notch melodrama! (2008-04-28)
I was led, somehow, to this flick because of the names Philip Seymour Hoffman and Sidney Lumet, an irresistible pairing.

Masterful in many ways, this film, and Hoffman seems unable to do wrong from one project to the next. What a treasure this actor is!

Do not miss the documentary, the lesson from Lumet on the proper definition of melodrama, and a glimpse at a director in his eighties who is as stoked with creative energy as someone fifty years his junior.wow (2008-04-27)
I can’t help but laugh when I read these reviews that say ‘predicable plot.’ When was the last time you saw a movie when the kids robbed their parents?

Michael Clayton? Now THAT was a predictable plot. Bad lawyer turned good has been done to death.

This movie is an overlooked good show. 

***** More Detail/Buy Product. *****


Before the Devil Knows You're Dead