Two brothers conspire to rob their parents' jewelry store, but things take a tragic turn for the worst and force them into a dangerous downward spiral.
CRIME/DRAMA
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Before the Devil
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"May you be in heaven 40 years, before the devil knows you're dead." It's a traditional Irish toast, and also the source of the film's intriguing title. It's a title that perfectly describes the intensity, the guilt, and the complete familial destruction that the film serves up for the audience. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead contains yet another PSH performance that wowed me, particularly one cathartic scene in his car that may just be the most powerful scene he ever did. An all-star supporting cast of beloved character actors rounds out this tense thriller where everything goes horribly wrong in the worst way for two brothers looking to score some quick cash.
Hoffman and Hawke are Andy and Hank Hanson, two trainwrecks of human beings who decide to rob their parents' jewelry store to score a quick buck. Andy's a drug addict with a failing marriage (a little close to home for Hoffman, who would die of a heroin overdose seven years later), and Hank is a doormat for his bitch of an ex-wife, to whom he owes thousands in alimony. When the heist goes to shit immediately, the two are wracked with guilt and trigger a domino effect that ruins so many lives. It's such a brilliant, original script from playwright Kelly Masterson, future writer of Snowpiercer, and the final film of legendary director Sidney Lumet, whose style is visible throughout. This film could've gone in so many different directions and still been engaging. The characters are horrible people with the faintest of silver linings keeping them from becoming all-out monsters, and it's such an avoidable situation to begin with. There's so much this film brings to the table, and it definitely deserves more attention. |