Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, Marisa Tomei

Dir. Sidney Lumet
Scr. Kelly Masterson

This certainly isn’t a cheery film. And not one to take your grandma to see. But it’s a bloody good film – well crafted and paced, well acted, compelling. Sidney Lumet, obviously still going strong in his 80s, has assembled a stellar cast who deliver in spades. You might not “enjoy” this movie, but you’ll appreciate a fine director and cast at work.

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (the title taken from an old Irish saying – “May you be in heaven a full half hour before the devil knows you're dead”) tells the story of brothers Andy and Hank Hanson, who embark on a seemingly fool-proof plan to rob a jewelry store and solve their financial woes. Hank, a divorced, deadbeat dad, is way behind on child support payments; Andy is in a pickle at work and has a wife who likes to spend his money. The robbery goes terribly wrong – don’t they all? – and events and repercussions spiral out of the control. The tagline of this film – “No one was supposed to get hurt” – hints at the fact that everyone does. Big time.

Before the Devil is non-linear – we jump from character to character, from days before the robbery, to days after. This certainly isn’t a new cinematic device, especially in this genre, and can often be both annoying and confusing. But it is handled deftly in this film and the tension builds wonderfully.

This film is an insight into several disturbing facets of personality. You won’t necessarily like the characters in this film – they are hugely flawed and sometimes downright horrid – but they are very believable. Hank is weak. Andy is unforgiving. Gina (Andy’s wife) is never satisfied. Charles (Hank and Andy’s father) is cruel. These characters don’t redeem themselves, they don’t suddenly come good. It’s a bleak picture of modern life. Some may find it hard to watch, but it is tragedy as its best.

The cast of this film is very good indeed. Hoffman, as Andy, is the stand-out. He is an actor that simply doesn’t disappoint. And he is especially good as the flawed and unlikeable man. The scene in the car after his mother’s funeral is quite gut-wrenching. Hawke – on the face of it, an unexpected casting choice – is wonderful as the weak, hopeless younger brother Hank. Talked into anything, you simply want to slap him and tell him to get a backbone. Finney, as their father Charles, is on fine form. Having ignored his older son and smothered his younger son, Charles could in fact be held responsible for all that transpires in this story. And, in the end, he makes a choice that will have you questioning the assumption that parental love overcomes all. Tomei, as Andy’s wife Gina, is pretty good. I found her character hugely unlikeable and so found it hard to like Tomei in this film. So, I have to concede, well done on her part.

I recommend this film. It’s not an easy watch. And the very graphic opening scene might put some off. But this is a finely crafted, compelling, superbly acted film about the worst in all of us.

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Andy Hanson: The thing about real estate accounting is that you can add down the page or across the page and everything works out. Everyday, everything adds up. The total is always the sum of its parts. It's, uh, clean. It's clear. Neat, absolute. But my life, it, uh, it doesn't add up. It, uh... Nothing connects to anything else. It's, uh... I'm not, I'm not the sum of my parts. All my parts don't add up to one... to one me, I guess.