Nov
27
2007

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead

There’s nothing strikingly original about this film but it still manages to engage you for its duration. It’s a tightly crafted thriller about a jewellery store robbery gone wrong which results in the already fucked-up lives of the characters taking an almighty turn for the worse.

The cast is excellent here, including two of my favourites – Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke. Director Sidney Lumet is most known for some of his excellent films of the 1970s like Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon and Network but he hasn’t done much of note in recent years.  ‘Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead’ is a welcome change to that. The narrative technique involves showing the robbery from different points of view and it works well.

Before The Devil Knows You're Dead

Marisa Tomei plays the wife of Hoffman’s character and they share the best opening scene to a film ever. You’ll know when you see it! 6 crumbs out of 10.

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