Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Directed by: Sidney Lumet

Screenplay by: Kelly Masterson

Cinematography by: Ron Fortunato

Editor: Tom Swartwout

Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke and Albert Finney

Year: 2007

 

Any film that has a highly aggravated Philip Seymour Hoffman repeatedly telling another character "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" is always good in my book. Ethan Hawke also turns in a very believable performance (mainly because his character is just an irrevocably aloof dumbass, so I imagine it came pretty natural for him). Although I wish Marisa Tomei's character was a little more involved in the plot, her scenes are still quite... well... memorable to say the least. But the performance that just steals the show is Albert Finney. Wow, get ready for a powerhouse of emotion, folks. 

It's amazing to see a movie with such raw, uncompromising scenes, and even more incredible that it was brought about by a director who's an OCTOGENARIAN! It was really fascinating to see Lumet's old-school dramatic sensibilities intermingling with a contemporary cinematic aesthetic. If this movie was made in the 1950's during the height of the Hays Code, nearly half the scenes in this film would have either have to be subtly implied or just downright cut out. I feel fortunate that audience sensibilities have changed so dramatically since then, so as to allow legitimate filmmakers the leeway to express adult themes in a forthright and uncompromising manner. Before The Devil Knows You're Dead may not be a "masterpiece" but man, it sure is an engrossing and entertaining film.

4 out of 5