Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

THINKFilm | Release Date: October 26, 2007

8.3	USER SCORE Universal acclaim based on 381 Ratings

USER RATING DISTRIBUTION

Watch Now

Stream On

Expand

Review this movie

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Please sign in or create an account before writing a review.

Check box if your review contains spoilers

0 characters (5000 max)

User Reviews

User score By date Most helpful

BeakBNov 28, 2007

Very dark movie. It is good though.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

NickG.Dec 23, 2007

Ethan hawk's acting is horrible. the jumbled plotting is done for effect but has no real person. A mighty bore.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

SuzanneM.Nov 29, 2009

One of the worst movies I've ever started to watch. Got half way though it, and shut it off. Not worth the energy to run it.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

tonyGreenNov 29, 2018

A great thriller with a more than a touch of morality play within. The action is taut, and skillful interleaving of narratives keeps the pulse up. This one stayed with me for many days. A small caveat- it is very bleak - definitely no feelA great thriller with a more than a touch of morality play within. The action is taut, and skillful interleaving of narratives keeps the pulse up. This one stayed with me for many days. A small caveat- it is very bleak - definitely no feel good factor here.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

cabritaOct 20, 2012

The film's opening scene is so well made it quite possibly will never leave my mind. This scene sets the tone for the entire film. Great performances, Great screenplay, but the style may be a bit distracting in places. At a time whenThe film's opening scene is so well made it quite possibly will never leave my mind. This scene sets the tone for the entire film. Great performances, Great screenplay, but the style may be a bit distracting in places. At a time when thrillers are more about action before the devil knows you're dead comes across as freshly old school.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

beingryanjudeAug 28, 2014

It is no surprise that Sidney Lumet is the genius behind Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. A taunting thriller with a dynamite ensemble. Phillip Seymour Hoffman at his very best.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

SpangleJul 1, 2016

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead is an undeniably well acted and well made film. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, and Marisa Tomei's boobs (probably the leader for screentime), all turn in great performances. The film isBefore the Devil Knows You're Dead is an undeniably well acted and well made film. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, and Marisa Tomei's boobs (probably the leader for screentime), all turn in great performances. The film is also a phenomenal look at a broken family led to the point of desperation to lift themselves up, but winds up tearing them apart even more. As a crime thriller, it is solid and wholly entertaining. However, the film undoes itself with its non-linear structure. Annoying and useless in this film, the non-linear storytelling distracts more than it entertains. Even worse, the way in which it is told makes no sense with it jumping all over the place with little aim. The thrills the film could have produced are killed through the same means as the film's climactic parts come far too early to actually carry any weight. After this, we are stuck watching these people we do not like come to grips with what happened and reveal more dealing with it, but since we know how it turned out, it all feels pointless because then we can assume how they will all react to the results. There is tension, merely predictability. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead presents good acting, but shoots itself in the face repeatedly with its curious use of non-linear storytelling.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

Jimbo82Apr 4, 2013

This film is about 2 brothers Andy and Hank (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke respectively) who plot to rob their parents jewellery store. The robbery is initially told from 2 perspectives for both brothers and later we get aThis film is about 2 brothers Andy and Hank (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke respectively) who plot to rob their parents jewellery store. The robbery is initially told from 2 perspectives for both brothers and later we get a third perspective of the robbery through their father Charles (played by Albert Finney). I thought the film started off well as the robbery unfolds and we start to see the brother's motivations behind the robbery. The trouble is that once we get past the initial premise, the film begins to become repetitive and a bit tedious. The second half of the film was just filled with squabbling and melodrama and never really seemed to go anywhere by this point I was getting pretty bored with the film. I was ultimately disappointed with this film which is a shame as it started out well and ended up being only an average film at best.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

Meth-dudeFeb 19, 2017

The acting was very good, especially Phillip Seymour Hoffman, the movie was interesting and entertaining. It was interesting to see the brothers and the husband's point of view and also the characters were believable. It's a well made, wellThe acting was very good, especially Phillip Seymour Hoffman, the movie was interesting and entertaining. It was interesting to see the brothers and the husband's point of view and also the characters were believable. It's a well made, well directed and well shot movie that definitely is worth watching.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

alejandro970Oct 23, 2021

How many bad things can come out when you want to get money fast and easy? Many. The story unfolds in an agile and compelling way, and with a cataclysmic ending. To see without fail.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

BroyaxJul 2, 2018

Sidney Lumet est un peu comme Sydney Pollack, des frères siamois à l'insu de leur ignorance dans le grand monde du cinéma endormissant, à savoir que l'un comme l'autre réussissent à détourner des sujets fort intéressants en platitudes assezSidney Lumet est un peu comme Sydney Pollack, des frères siamois à l'insu de leur ignorance dans le grand monde du cinéma endormissant, à savoir que l'un comme l'autre réussissent à détourner des sujets fort intéressants en platitudes assez consternantes...

Ici Sidney (pas Sydney donc) malgré l'astuce des multiples retours en arrière selon chacun des personnages, nous livre un film bien mollasson et même froid en dépit pourtant d'un scénario inventif et un brin barré digne d'un fait divers particulièrement sordide. Et pourtant, on a du beau monde dans la distribution avec un Seymour Hoffman impérial, un Finney impeccable, et une Marisa -milf de son état- affriolante qui montre du téton frétillant. Ethan Hawke au demeurant un acteur très sympathique, est moins à l'aise dans son rôle de tocard et cela s'en ressent quelque peu, cependant. Par ailleurs, on ignore tout -à la fin- du destin de son personnage...

Les longueurs se succèdent donc malgré la narration décalée et croisée qui ne nécessitait à la louche qu'une heure et demi mais que Sidney a étalée sur deux plombes... quel dommage, car lorsque tout ce micmac dérape dans les grandes largeurs, ça fait son effet ! il aurait fallu confier ce projet à quelqu'un de compétent, pas à un S(y)idney !… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

KenRNov 10, 2020

There’s a film making device that not even the sometimes overrated Kubrick could make work (IE; check out his heist movie: ‘The Killing’) It’s the tired old flashback device of repeating the same scene over from several viewpoints, even whenThere’s a film making device that not even the sometimes overrated Kubrick could make work (IE; check out his heist movie: ‘The Killing’) It’s the tired old flashback device of repeating the same scene over from several viewpoints, even when it’s totally pointless (as it is here). First-time writer Kelly Masterson and veteran director Sidney Lumet must have felt everyone will have forgotten that padded-out earlier old flick, thinking they could get away with ‘borrowing’ the idea for their dreary heist movie. This one is a ‘doozy’ and should please those who live their lives thinking the best time of year is the bleak mid-winter - during a power failure and severe food shortage.

Writer and director must have been so aware of their over-stretched plot, that they may have thought (wrongly) by starting their movie with a sensationalised, voyeuristic porno type shot, featuring two of their stars rear-end copulating - will shock jaded viewers into thinking it exciting and modern. Trouble is, the whole thing is sleazily set up and ultimately unappealing. Pity the poor 40ish Marisa Tomei (even though she looks very good) is shown in 80% of her scenes more than half naked – talk about used and abused. Lumet would have been better to have retired before he was reduced to ending his career at this merge point. A strong hard-working cast delivers their distraught lines with conviction - while given situations that just about defies any close examination by intelligent audiences. The pathetic characters that inhabit this story are just too difficult to feel anything for. I’m not going to give away any plot details here but it’s this depressingly overstated type of movie making that appeals to festival in-crowds and certain critics. It’s also a reminder, for those who have forgotten what great classic writing used to do with genuine human tragedy. Here, it’s shredded and reduced to pathetic characters and ridiculously laboured situations - designed to manipulate the audience into thinking it way far better than it is (some will – many won't)… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

prev next

Page: