Before The Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)

The late Sidney Lumet made himself a household name with his debut feature, a film now frequently cited as one of the all-time greats in 12 Angry Men (1957). The last film he directed before his passing in 2011 was this Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman fronted sort-of heist drama, told in non-linear form. Hawke's Hank is struggling to pay the bills (most notably alimony to his ex who despises him), whilst his brother Andy (Hoffman) is facing an audit at work that will seemingly unveil his wrongdoing in the job; and he concocts a scheme to rob their parents' jewellery store. The film begins with the robbery itself, so we immediately see it go badly wrong, leaving one man dead and an elderly lady in bad shape. Lumet's film then plays out in a Rashomon (1950) like fashion, as we see experience the days in the build-up to the robbery from the point of view of various different characters, including the brothers' father (Albert Finney). Lumet prompts superb performances from all his cast; Hawke and Hoffman are both excellent but are matched by Marisa Tomei playing Andy's wife Gina. Despite the repeatedly dark material, accentuated by the increasingly poor decisions of the main players, Before The Devil Knows You're Dead is truly gripping, and it's to the script's credit that it keeps you completely involved despite being shown the robbery right at the beginning of the film, an opening that lures you into thinking that that's as bad as it gets for the characters. 7.7/10