Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead is Sidney Lumet’s last film, and in many ways, it distills what the director explored in his prolific body of work: What is justice? And does everyone deserve it? Shot digitally at a time when the concept was still quite new, Before the Devil moves fast and takes us uncomfortably close to the lives of three desperate men: cash-strapped Hank (Hawke), corrupt Andy (Seymour-Hoffman), and vengeful Charles (Finney). The same tragic events unfold through their perspectives, but in any case, we get to see what drives them to do such horrid things. Are we suppose to sympathize with them? It’s a question that will nag you long after the credits roll.
"[A] furious and entertaining little morality play."
— David Denby
"[Sidney Lumet's] touch in Before the Devil is so sure, so perfectly weighted, that it's hard to imagine him capable of making a bad movie."
— David Edelstein
When two brothers organize the robbery of their parents' jewelry store, the job goes horribly wrong, triggering a series of events that send them and their family hurtling towards a shattering climax.
Desperate for money, Hank (Ethan Hawke) and Andy (Philip Seymour-Hoffman) decide to rob their parents’ jewelry store. But when things go rogue, they—along with father Charles (Albert Finney)—descend into madness.
Seymour-Hoffman. When he explodes it’s like no one else.
How can a film be anything other than great when it’s starring the late, great, and utterly terrifying Philip Seymour-Hoffman?
Spirit Awards
2 nominations
LAFCA
1 win
