Before the Devil Knows You're Dead [dir. Sidney Lumet]

2007, 117 minutes
w/ Philip S. Hoffman, Ethan Hawke & Albert Finney
[While the latest film I've seen from Lumet was 1976's Network, I think it's safe to say that he's nonetheless back making good movies with this one. That being said, it's not quite as good as it could have been. Before the Devil... is a brutally told meditation on the causes and effects of a heist gone terribly wrong and how it splits and brings together siblings, spouses and children. Much like Lumet's earlier films, Before the Devil is run by money, and the lengths people will go to get more. Perhaps the world's finest working actor, Philip Seymour Hoffman and the rather underrated if limited Ethan Hawke give perfectly pitched performances as brothers who decide to rob their parents' jewelry store as they both feel they need money. While the heist seems like it should be in the bag: the jewelry's insured, neither parent is working that morning and they know the combinations to everything....they fuck up, and more than one person ends up dead. In the middle of this is Hoffman's wife played by the ageless Marisa Tomei, who is conveniently meeting Hawke once a week for a lay. The film switches narratives and timelines (at least structuring them well with "2 days before robbery" titles) constantly, but the device is not used to its potential and almost seems a hassle. The picture is at its best when focusing on the mysterious Hoffman character and the likable Hawke, but seems to often have an agenda of trying to impress with little details in plot explained later on through narrative switches. The film spirals to a powerful though predictable ending. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead is a bit of an underwhelming picture considering it's potential, but regardless is a film that gets more right than it does wrong, and features four excellent performances from Hoffman, Hawke, Tomei and the brothers' father played by the ever consistent Albert Finney.]

**1/2