Review of Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007) by Xgary X — 18 Dec 2013
Domineering Philip Seymour Hoffman talks his weak willed younger brother into helping him rob their parents' jewelry store to solve both their financial difficulties, but when the heist goes wrong their lives start to unravel.
Sidney Lumet has been making quality thrillers for 50 years, but in his latest effort he takes a few cues from his younger pretenders. The plot themes have a lot in common with Fargo and A Simple Plan and the execution is reminiscent of Jackie Brown and its familiar disjointed timeline.
In fact there is little here that hasn't been done before so don't expect much in the way of originality or surprises, but the quality cast all put in solid performances and Lumet certainly still knows how to pace a story and crank up the suspense.
No gimmickry, no pointless frills; just an extremely well crafted and intelligent thriller.
This review of Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007) was written by Xgary X on 18 Dec 2013.
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead has generally received very positive reviews.
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