Before Lumet Knows He’s Dead
By Bob 12/21/2007
After I see a film, I usually try to read a few reviews of it just to see what other critics thought of it, usually I agree with some and disagree with others. However, today I saw a film which was pretty solidly reviewed by the critics, 88% on rottentomatoes.com, but completely disliked by myself as well as my friend who saw it with me. While there were some good things going on in Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, ultimately the film did not live up to the expectations I had for it, or the reviews that critics gave it.
Before I get into what I didn’t like, I must say that the performances were across the board phenomenal. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Albert Finney, and Ethan Hawke are all excellent in this story about two sons (Hoffman and Hawke) who decide to rob their parents (Finney and Rosemary Harris) jewelry store to get some easy money. When the heist goes wrong and people get shot, the family is torn apart and each man must go to great lengths to survive.
Hoffman is diabolical as the mastermind of the plan, he is the most imperfect of the characters as his actions are mostly irrational, and his behavior is incredibly erratic. He is seen doing coke and heroin, and he has no remorse for his actions throughout the film. Yet, he is seen to be vulnerable and torn apart inside even though he shows others an outward appearance that everything is alright. As always, Hoffman’s acting is second to none, and few actors could have pulled this off.
Hawke is equally impressive as the younger brother who is in dire need of money so that he can come through for the daughter that he loves so much. His character simply does what he has to so that he can do what is best for his daughter. He is in over his head and he knows it, and his breakdown as things go haywire is equally impressive to watch. However, my favorite moment of his was when he was at his daughter’s school play. Hawke gave a brilliant performance where the audience could see how much the character loved his daughter, but was also troubled because of his lack of money.
Finney is also remarkable as the father of the men whose life is thrown of course when his wife is shot in a robbery gone wrong. His is one of the best portrayals of a man in grief I have ever seen. At times he can hardly stand up, while at other times he seems willing to do anything to find out the truth about his wife’s death. His is an excellent performance throughout, as the audience can really feel the pain and sorrow on his face.
However, despite the excellent performances from the three leading men, the film did not add up. Director Sydney Lumet (12 Angry Men, Network, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon) seems like he has clearly lost his touch with age. There were many stylistic choices throughout the film that did not fit at all. The background music really took away from the on screen action, and his editing was poorly executed.
Worst of all though, was the way the story progressed. It played out as one of the slowest films I have seen in a long time, which is really bad since I think it was supposed to be suspenseful. Part of this was because of the disjointed method Lumet and screenwriter Kelly Masterson use to tell the story. It is told in segments from the perspective of the different characters and switches between characters several different times. Each time it changes perspectives, it jumps to a different point in time, with some conversations actually being shown multiple times, but from different approaches, and even different parts of the talks. In my opinion, this really hurt the film, because it created a complete lack of suspense throughout, and added to the slowness.
It seems to me that anytime a film is made that is shown from several different perspectives, critics alike anoint it one of the best films of the year. Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead is not a film that should be acclaimed for this reason. Not only are each of the perspectives poorly and inconsistently executed, but the storytelling method fails to create a compelling and believable story.
While the characters are all supposed to be a family, they seemingly do not care one bit about each other (except, of course, for Finney’s unrelenting love of his wife). They are each also every bit as unlikable as the others. The storytelling also gives the viewers all of the answers very early on, and is left with very little care for any of the characters actions by the midpoint of the film. This coupled with several scenes which made little sense to me in the context left me with a very sour taste in my mouth despite the excellent performances delivered by the lead actors.
Overall, I give Mr. Lumet and Ms. Masterson F’s for their execution of the story, while giving the actors each A’s. It is rare to see a film that was so well acted, yet so poorly executed that I can not think of any film that is comparable to this one. I give it 6/10 salty stix, but warn viewers to stay away at all costs. If you want to see these actors put in great performances, see Magnolia (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Training Day (Ethan Hawke), and Big Fish (Albert Finney), and leave this film to rot in hell, before Mr. Lumet knows that it has died.