Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
September 28th, 2009
The perfect crime goes horribly wrong for brothers Andy (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Hank (Ethan Hawke) when they botch a robbery of their parents’ jewelry store in this wrenching drama from legendary filmmaker Sidney Lumet, who was 82 when he directed the film. Albert Finney and Rosemary Harris co-star as Andy and Hank’s unsuspecting parents, with Marisa Tomei appearing as Gina, Andy’s unfaithful wife.
“Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” is a crime thriller success for 83-year-old director, Sidney Lumet. Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman as Andy, a repugnant, scheming loser; and Ethan Hawke as Hank, an innocent-minded and likeable loser, the two men are greedy brothers who live their separate lives in NYC. But each are experiencing financial difficulties. So out of pure desperation, Andy decides their respective situations might be resolved by a small robbery. And even better, Andy thinks, is if the robbery takes place at their mom and dad’s shopping mall jewelry store. He has arranged a fence for the jewels and his mom and dad will be paid off by the insurance company. It’s so simple – and everybody wins! This story is told in segments of several days before the robbery and one week following the robbery. And as each segment is unveiled, the viewer becomes aware of how the best laid plans can quickly and easily go awry. Seymour Hoffman has more than proven his abilities in the art of acting, but this might be Hawke’s best work ever. Supported by an excellent Albert Finney as the men’s father and Marisa Tomei as Andy’s sexy wife, the emotional upheaval and utter panic that envelops all of these characters is a tribute to Lumet’s story-telling skills and to the actors’ extraordinary abilities. I must admit that my hand was over my mouth in sheer disbelief during a good portion of this film. Highly recommended.
Rent this movie in Spain from FilmAmora.com
Categories: Drama
