Before The Devil Knows You're Dead

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)

Runtime: 117 minutes

Directed by: Sidney Lumet

Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei, Albert Finney, Michael Shannon

From: Several independent production companies

Even more of a bummer than I recalled. You see, I actually saw Before the Devil Knows You're Dead theatrically back in '07, and hadn't watched it again until now. After My Cousin Vinny, why not check out another Marisa Tomei joint I had experienced in the past? She had quality performances in both—how different those two roles and movies were demonstrated her versatility as an actress. At the time I was happy to see a Sidney Lumet film on the big screen as a new release. After he passed away I was glad to have experienced his swan song that way.

As I stated at the beginning, my memories were that this was dark—holy crap, it was even more bleak than what I was expecting from those memories. It was a devastating look at a family and what happens after a botched robbery at a mom and pop jewelry store in a suburban New York City area shopping plaza. The movie starts off on an interesting note w/ Tomei and Philip Seymour Hoffman... having hot sweaty sex w/ each other. After that, it's a much more sobering look at a pair of tremendously flawed brothers. In a tale told in a nonlinear fashion, a botched robbery of a mom and pop jewelry store is shown in the first 10 minutes, then the setup and aftermath.

It's not the most comfortable journey to be on, but it was an engrossing one nevertheless. What a cast it has: Hoffman, Tomei, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, Amy Ryan, Michael Shannon. Thankfully their talents were not wasted here. The performances from Hoffman, Hawke, Tomei and Finney were all exemplary. In fact, there are a few great scenes of acting which were a delight. While I may not watch such a bummer of a movie a third time, I was happy to see it a second time so it could be discussed here. Later in the month I'll revisit another Philip Seymour Hoffman joint, which is something I'm excited for-and I'll also happily note how amazing Sidney Lumet's career that he made a classic in '57 and half a century later ended his time in the director's chair with something very good.