The Third Draft

by Coach Patton
©D. Patton, All Rights Reserved

Title taken from the Irish toast:
"May you have food and raiment, a soft pillow for your head;
and may you be 40 years in heaven, before the devil knows you're dead."

Director: Sidney Lumet
Writer: Kelly Masterson
Running Length: 2:03 Rated: R (Violence, profanity, sex, nudity)
 
PLOT: When two brothers organize the robbery of their parents' jewelry store the job goes horribly wrong, triggering a series of events that sends them, their father and one brother's wife hurtling towards a shattering climax.  
Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, Marisa Tomei, Rosemary Harris, Brian F. O'Byrne

No one was supposed to get hurt.

Master filmmaker Sidney Lumet directs this absorbing suspense thriller about a family facing the worst enemy of all: itself. Oscar-winner Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Andy, an over-extended broker who lures his younger brother, Hank (Ethan Hawke), into a larcenous scheme: the pair will rob a suburban mom-and-pop jewelry store that appears to be the quintessential easy target. The problem is, the store owners are Andy and Hank's actual mom and pop and, when the seemingly perfect crime goes awry, the damage lands right at their doorstep. Oscar-winner Marisa Tomei plays Hoffman's trophy wife, who is also having a clandestine affair with Hawke, and the stellar cast also includes Albert Finney as the family patriarch who pursues justice at all costs, completely unaware that the culprits he is hunting are his own two sons.

A classy, classic heist-gone-wrong drama in the tradition of The Killing and Lumet's own The Anderson Tapes, Before The Devil Knows You're Dead is smart enough to know that we often have the most to fear from those who are near and dear.  

As Andy (Hoffman), an accountant by trade, points out in an early scene, “Here’s the great thing about accounting: You can add down the page or across the page and everything works out. Every day, everything adds up. The total is always the sum of its parts. Clean. Neat. Clear. Absolute. I have a job I like. A salary I like. An apartment I like. A wife I adore.” As he swallows at this point and blinks tears, he delivers the edict: “But it doesn’t add up. Not down or across. Nothing connects to anything else. I am the sum of my parts. All my parts don’t add up to one . . . one me.”

Director Sidney Lumet at 83 is still a far better director than some of those being paid to helm some of the current blockbusters. He hasn’t forgotten how to tell a story or how to pace a movie. His list of credits is the envy of most in the business. How many directors can present a resume that includes 12 Angry Men, The Pawnbroker, Fail-Safe, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Network, Prince of the City, and The Verdict?

Before the Devil is not at the level of the aforementioned films but it is well done, wonderfully acted, and a semi satisfying experience for the audience. On the negative side of the ledger, it is a tad herky-jerky, bouncing around in time so often that it sometimes felt necessary to resynchronize my brain to figure out exactly when and where the action was taking place. Another problem with the story is that there is not one redeeming character in the entire movie.

Lumet drags us into the tale, slowly connecting the dots and the characters. The story centers on a family: a mother, father and three children (two boys and a girl). The children are all in their late 30’s (early 40s?) but they are certainly still children, except for arguably, the daughter (Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone), the only character who approaches "normalcy" and "stability."

Charles (Albert Finney) plays daddy to the clan -- a group that is totally adrift. The two sons include Andy (Hoffman) and Hank (Ethan Hawke). Andy can be best described as cold and smarmy and Hank fails at pretty much everything he tries in life. But everyone here ultimately gets washed away due to the actions originally taken by Andy.

Mr. Hoffman is outstanding for the umpteenth time around. Even if the movie had stunk it would have been worth the price of admission just to watch Hoffman mug his way through his role. Finney and Hawke also do very good work here, as does the rest of the cast.

At its core, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead is about unraveling -- about things being torn apart and swept away. Plans, relationships and careers crumble as the result of choices made by the characters until all concerned are caught in an overwhelming flood following the break of a dam. Everyone becomes helpless. No one is safe. And as with other vicarious thrills, it’s entertaining—almost fun—to watch as things fall apart. . . just as long as it’s not happening to you. Or at least that’s How It Seemed from Where I Sat.

What’s it worth?     
For film buffs: the matinee price at your local cinema.
For the average viewer: you can safely wait for this movie on free cable.
Watch this with members of your family . . . and be afraid, very afraid.

ROLL CREDITS:
Director: Sidney Lumet
Screenplay: Kelly Masterson
Cinematography: Ron Fortunato
Music: Carter Burwell
CAST:
Philip Seymour Hoffman—Andy
Ethan Hawke—Hank
Albert Finney—Charles
Marisa Tomei—Gina
Rosemary Harris—Nanette
Aleksa Palladino—Chris
Michael Shannon—Dex
Amy Ryan—Martha
Brian F. O'Byrne—Bobby

Fade to Black
In The Name Of Truth, Justice and In the Service of A Higher Good, I Remain Your Friend, Movie Reviewer and Spiritual Advisor, Coach Patton

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