Movie Review: Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Sidney Lumet's first movie was 12 Angry Men, my favorite courtroom drama. While not all his later films were good, he managed to add Fail-Safe, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Network, and The Verdict to his accomplishments. Ebert said: "It's wonderful when a director like Lumet wins a Lifetime Achievement Oscar at 80, and three years later makes one of his greatest achievements." That film is Before the Devil Knows You're Dead.

The film is constructed as Stanley Kubrick's The Killing was. That is, the story is told out of sequence. With the exception of the opening scene it's clearly described when each scene takes place. Sometimes we see the same events a second or third time, from a different point of view, or just with more background and more understanding. While this could be annoying, in this case it's done very well. We learn about the characters by finding out the events that lead up to the actions; as such I'm not going to say much about the plot.

Philip Seymour Hoffman is Andy. Ethan Hawke is his younger brother Hank. They decide to rob a store. Albert Finney plays their father as if he's channelling Peter Finch from Lumet's Network. Marisa Tomei is Andy's wife Gina. Hoffman and Finney give stand out performances, Oscar nominations seem assured. Andy is so emotionally constipated that even when he throws things around his apartment he doesn't break anything. Tomei has never looked better, her role is smaller but she does have the funniest scene in the film as well as several good dramatic ones.

While buying my ticket, the counter guy at the theater explained the title. I was impressed until I saw it in the opening title credits. It's from an old Irish proverb, "May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you're dead." As Andy explains in the movie, "I don't add up. I am not the sum of my parts." Luckily for us, we get to work out that math by watching this film. 11 months into the year, this is my favorite film so far. It's a bit depressing, but also a lot of fun.