DVD Reviews
DVD Review: Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
By Jeff Swindoll
Apr 22, 2008, 15:17 GMT

Legendary director Sidney Lumet leads a high octane cast through some great paces with this melodrama (as Lumet calls it, we might say crime thriller).  The Devil’s in the details and this film excels in the devilish performance department.  

Both of the Hanson brothers are in financial trouble.  Andy (Philip Seymour Hoffman) has been hiding his drug addiction from both his wife Gina (Marisa Tomei) and his employer.  His addictions have caused him to dip into the company funds to pay for his accelerating habit.  His milquetoast brother Hank (Ethan Hawke) is behind on his child support payments and his ex is hounding him. 

Andy comes up with what he considers the perfect plan – they’ll rob their parent’s (Albert Finney and Rosemary Harris) jewelry store.  It’s a victimless crime speculates Andy since Hank is to use a toy gun, so nobody gets hurt, and the insurance company will pay their parents. 

The weakling Hank doesn’t think he can go through with it so he gets his friend Bobby (Brian F. O’Byrne) to pull off the heist.  However, Bobby decides to bring his own gun – a real one.  The elderly lady who usually watches the store on the day of the robbery has to baby-sit her grandson so it’s the Hanson’s mother who is minding the store. 

Things go badly and both Bobby and Mrs. Hanson end up dead and that’s just the beginnings of the troubles that the brothers find themselves in.  

The title of the film is from an old Irish proverb stating that “may you be in heaven a full half hour before the devil knows you’re dead.”  Very few of the characters featured might have a hope of making it to heaven since their behavior is pretty reprehensible.  I think that this film is very interestingly cast in that I would’ve thought that the usual casting wisdom would’ve switched the brother roles. 

You’d usually see Hoffman as the weakling brother and Hawke as the smarmy, determined one.  Lumet goes against type and switches these roles around, in my opinion, and gets fantastic performances out of both actors.  Not that the supporting players are slouches mind you. 

Marisa Tomei adds some depth to her role as the wife of one brother who just happens to be having an affair with the other (and bares some flesh for all you skin fans – lovely to look at mind you).  Albert Finney also does well as the poor father who not only has to deal with the loss of his wife, but also with finding out the tragedy behind exactly why she died.  It’s not a particularly uplifting film, not many melodramas or crime dramas are, but it does have some excellent performances.  

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions.  Special features include a commentary with director Sidney Lumet and stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke.  Next is the 24 minute “Directed by Sidney Lumet: How the Devil was Made” which examines the making of the film as well as Lumet’s preference for shooting digitally.  Finally there’s the 2 minute theatrical trailer.

A depressing treatise on how evil can be found in everyone if the situation arises is made watchable by some powerful performances.  Sidney Lumet is an old master and this film only cements his legacy.

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead is now available at Amazon. It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for a May 26th release. Visit the DVD database for more information,