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Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Rated R
3.5 Stars Out of 4

For over 50 years director Sidney Lumet’s films have frequently and deftly dealt with the theme of justice and retribution. 12 Angry Men, The Pawnbroker, Serpico, The Verdict, and now at 83 years young, the exploration continues on a smaller scale with Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead. Told through multiple perspectives and a recursive and looping narrative, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead concerns a tale of a crime gone terribly bad, which ultimately unravels a family, much like a modern version of a classic Greek tragedy.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke are excellent as brothers, Andy and Hank Hanson who are both in bad financial predicaments. Andy, a New York accountant for a real estate agency, is under an IRS investigation and Hank’s ex-wife is continually nagging him about being months behind on child support. Andy suggests a way out of their money headaches by proposing a plan of a near foolproof victimless crime; they will rip-off a small mom and pop jewelry store in a local suburban strip mall and insurance will likely cover the owner’s loses. The crime will sort of be an inside job because the hitch is: the store is owned by their parents..

The screenplay by Kelly Masterson isn’t always the most sharp or plausible, but solid, believable performances by Hoffman, Hawke and Finney emotionally carry the story over its more gimmicky parts. As the crime unravels, characters are caught in a web of deceptions, adultery, blackmail, drug dealing and a chain of homicides. Lumet’s technical prowess, his occasional use of jump cuts, and cameraman Ron Fortunato’s expressive cinematic lighting and bleached out use of colors create a compelling story of peoples’ lives out of control. Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead is one of the year’s most disturbing and powerful films.