Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007)

Brothers Andy (Phillip Seymor Hoffman) and Hank (Ethan Hawke) Hanson have money trouble. The company where Andy works faces an upcoming audit, threatening to reveal the systematic embezzlement of funds that fuel his drug habit. Hank is behind on payments for his child support, as well as his daughter’s private school tuition. Both have an increasingly fractious relationship with their father Charles (Albert Finney), who was emotionally distant throughout their childhood. Andy approaches Hank with a plan to solve both their financial troubles; they rob their parents’ jewellery store. The place is well insured and absolutely nothing will go terribly wrong. Something then goes terribly wrong.

Befitting the overly grounded production are characters that are not only flawed, but progressively inept. Despite writer Kelly Masterson coming from a background in Theology, there are simplistic pronouncements upon good and evil. There’s also no rumination on ‘respect’ and ‘honour’ and other such bloated conceits usually associated with the genre. In fact, the family dynamic is more akin to an indie drama, with such classical themes rendered less explicit. Crime is decided upon through sheer desperation, with both spiralling alongside each-other as the story develops. It’s also refreshing to see a film largely avoid portraying crime as a kind of lifestyle choice or, even worse, a moral equivalent to capitalism and the rule of law. Every character has failed another in some way, from adultery to murder to simple emotional reticence. The botched robbery acts as more of a catalyst for already pregnant issues between the characters, whether emotional or financial. In this way, it maintains the film retains its heart without giving way to style or spectacle.

In the accompanying Making Of documentary, it is made clear that what was initially perceived as a contemporary crime thriller was interpreted by the director Sidney Lumet as grand melodrama. It’s perhaps this distinction above all others that rescues the project from the crowded stable of ‘worthy but dull’. Despite some terrific scenes of raw, bloody emotion, there’s never a sense of pompous histrionics or stagey contrivance. Despite the chronologically loose structure, with POVs and time-frames intermittently shifting in an abrupt manner, there’s a deceptively airtight narrative at play. At points, this ‘flashback’ style can appear a little obnoxious, or obfuscate a crucial plot detail. Overall, there’s no sense of it becoming abused as a Pulp Fiction-style opportunistic gimmick. It also has the benefit of blurring the three-act structure, leading to a greater tension over when and how the story will end.

Since the sad loss of director Sidney Lumet earlier this year, Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead has greater notoriety for becoming the last addendum to one of the finest resumes in the industry. Being the capper on a list that includes Twelve Angry Men (1957), Fail-Safe (1964), Dog Day Afternoon (1975) and Network (1976), to name but a few, is not an enviable position for any movie. After several misfires in the last decade of his career (Gloria, Find Me Guilty), it’s at least some consolation for his final effort to be welcome among his best.