Movie Loner

Crime doesn’t pay. Who hasn’t heard this before? Still thousands of people every year think they can dupe the system and walk away with a nice cool sum that will solve all of their problems. They’ll spend countless hours trying to justify it to themselves. Nobody will get hurt. It’s a simple job. Is it, really? If you’re thinking about pulling off the perfect robbery or scam do yourself a favor and watch Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead. It will scare you straight.

Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Andy Hanson, a schlub payroll manager with a bored wife and nasty drug habit. Good ‘ol Andy has been embezzling money from his firm and he’s about to get pinched. He needs cash fast so he concocts a scheme to rob his parents suburban jewelry store. To assist in this “victimless crime” Andy enlists his meek little bro Hank (Ethan Hawke), who has financial woes of his own. Andy has it all figured out. All Hank has do is commit the robbery and it’s smooth sailing from there.

Of course, nothing goes as planned. Hank decides he’s too chicken to do it alone so he brings along a friend who happens to bring a gun. The friend is killed, and Andy and Hank’s mother, who wasn’t supposed to be at the store, ends up in the hospital with a gunshot. The brothers’ foolproof plot slowly, and painfully unravels. Guilt and paranoia seep in as Andy and Hank feebly attempt to keep it together. Meanwhile, their heartbroken father Charles (Albert Finney) seeks answers and justice.

This is a tough movie to watch. First-time screenwriter Kelly Masterson weaves a tragic, compelling story that gets bleaker as it progresses. The great director Sidney Lumet employs flashbacks to reveal backstory to this agonizing criminal tale. He provides the audience no glimmer of hope, or chance of redemption for his characters. They are trapped by their own missteps and can’t escape their deserved fates. Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead is far from the “Feel good movie of the year” but its precise execution and brilliant cast make it worth seeing.

The trailer for Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead: