Film Review

04 December 2008 04:16 BST

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Directed by Sidney Lumet, out January, in cinemas, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, Marisa Tomei, running time 117 mins.

In a Nutshell:

Emotional family robbery gone wrong

What's it all about?

This is a tale of two dysfunctional brothers Hank and Andy whose desperate lives lead them to undertake a most heinous act. Both manically depressed, younger brother Hank is separated from his wife and can't afford to pay the child support for his daughter while Andy is stuck in a job he hates, addicted to heroin and married to a wife who's totally miserable.

Andy decides to take drastic action and convinces Hank to join him in robbing a jewellery store so that they can clear their debts and start their lives afresh. However, the jewellery store in question isn’t any old jewellery store, it belongs to their parents. The 'fool-proof' plan goes disastrously wrong and everyone's lives start to fall apart as a result.

Who's in it?

Director Sydney Lumet (Serpico, 12 Angry Men) is still going strong at 83 years old and has produced a film of quality equal to his very best works. Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Almost Famous, Capote) completes his hat-trick of sensational performances for the month, following on from Charlie Wilson's War and The Savages. Ethan Hawke (Training Day, Gattaca) convinces as the pathetic younger brother who's having an affair with his brother's wife Gina (Marisa Tomei). Though in some state of nudity throughout most the film, Tomei (My Cousin Vinny, In the Bedroom) delivers as the depressive money-sucking socialite no longer interested in her marriage or life. Albert Finney (Erin Brockovich, Bourne Ultimatum) also shines as the brother's distant father, totally overcome by the shocking events that take place around him.

Likelihood of a trip to the Oscars?

Hoffman has received numerous nominations for his recent performances and he totally deserves them for his display here. Lumet has already received a lifetime achievement award from the Academy in 2005, but he may well find himself back at the Kodak Theatre once more this year.

What others say?

"Hoffman's reliably superb while Albert Finney, as the lads' father, is as good as he's ever been." – Daily Mirror

"Bleak, brutal and quite possibly brilliant, this is a triumphant return to form for Lumet and further proof that Hoffman is on an incredible winning streak." - Empire

So is it any good?

Lumet's remarkable career continues with this dark, depressing and totally absorbing tale. The success of the film lies in the decision by Lumet to choose not to focus on drawing attention to the criminal activity and the ensuing violence but on the believable human reactions of the characters to these events. The plot is conceivable and made more so by the very natural performances of the film's stars. Admittedly the acting here is big, with a capital B, but in some respects it makes the performances all the more real for it.

Albert Finney never disappoints and his portrayal of the deceived brother's father is a fine balance of bitter anger and agonising mourning. His and the film's dramatic final act should leave us as a blockbuster finale but unfortunately it is a tad predictable and falters slightly. Once again though the emotional turmoil underpinning the film plays through and it is easy to overlook such minor faults.

In terms of the two brothers, Hoffman is currently on the mother-of-all-rolls and his depressive, self-centered, self-obsessed Phil deserves notable praise. Hawke's portrayal of the pathetic Hank, groveling from scene to scene, is watchable but overshadowed by the bigger performances around him.

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead further cements Lumet's standing as a great director and shines as a triumph of personal turmoil and conflict.

8/10

Richard James

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