Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)

Knowing this is Sidney Lumet’s final major work changes how you see it. Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead is a crime drama in which an 82-year-old Lumet sharply dissects the complete collapse of a single family triggered by a single event. My rating is ★4.0.

What it’s about — Two brothers robbing their parents’ jewelry store

Andy (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is in financial crisis. Behind his title of certified public accountant he conceals drug addiction and embezzlement at the office. His brother Hank (Ethan Hawke) is also living in poverty under the burden of divorce and child support — on the verge of losing contact with his daughter for failing to pay. The two men conspire to rob their parents’ jewelry store. Insurance would cover it, so the parents won’t be harmed, and the proceeds will go to both of them. What appeared to be the perfect crime goes wrong in an unforeseen way and the whole family plummets. Lumet unfolds this process not in linear narrative but in a non-linear structure that alternates the perspectives of each character.

Direction — A non-linear structure shifting between viewpoints

Lumet shows the same event repeatedly from multiple characters’ viewpoints, layering up what each knows and doesn’t know. What is crucial is that this structure doesn’t end as mere technique but connects to the theme. The question of what family means — up to what line family members know or don’t know each other’s true reality — is embodied in the narrative structure itself. The shooting in a New York setting is not glamorous, but the spatial claustrophobia reflects the characters’ psychological states.

Performance — Hoffman revealing an inner collapse

Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Andy is the most complex character in the film. On the surface he is an intelligent, sophisticated adult, but in reality he hides an interior full of greed and self-loathing. Hoffman’s performance as he gradually reveals that interior is overwhelming. Ethan Hawke plays the contrasting weak and timid younger brother, effectively conveying the tension generated by the two characters’ complicity. Albert Finney’s brief appearance as the father is short but intense.

What the film says — Not a robbery, but a family’s collapse

The real subject of this film is not the robbery but the family. How many secrets, rages, and deprivations are concealed behind a family that appears to function. What is shocking about the collapse of an ordinary middle-class family triggered by a single event is not that it is unfamiliar but that it is not. Andy and Hank were each desperate for their own reasons, and that desperation drew the two brothers into this crime. Lumet captures this story on camera without moral judgment. The audience must make that judgment themselves. That is why the film stays uncomfortably present afterward.

Ratings & reception

TMDB score is 7.1. IMDb score tallied at 7.3. Rotten Tomatoes freshness is 89%. At the time of release it received the evaluation that Lumet had returned. Philip Seymour Hoffman’s performance was particularly highly rated and won prizes at multiple critics’ associations.

What doesn’t work

The non-linear structure can feel confusing. Some audiences may initially find the back-and-forth between character perspectives awkward. The role Marisa Tomei has is a shame — it amounts to a functional role rather than a fully developed character. There are also criticisms that the directness of the ending is somewhat at odds with the film’s subtle earlier tone.

Verdict

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead is a work in which Sidney Lumet proved his worth one final time in his later years. It wears the exterior of a crime genre film, but in substance it is a morality play about family, greed, and self-deception. Lumet drives this dark story using only the weight of the actors’ performances and dialogue, with no flashy mise-en-scène. That approach amplifies the film’s weight further. Philip Seymour Hoffman’s performance alone is sufficient reason to watch, and it is also an exemplary case of how a non-linear structure can reinforce theme.

Recommended for

• Those who love films that explore human psychology deeply within crime drama
• Those who want to see Philip Seymour Hoffman act
• Those with an interest in Sidney Lumet’s later work