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 enlarge | Director: Sidney Lumet
Actors: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, Marisa Tomei
Studio: Egami
Category: Movie
Buy New: $14.99
Rating:  99 reviews
Sales Rank: 13408
Genre: Drama
Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: Video On Demand
Running Time: 117 Minutes
ASIN: B0016JODPW
Theatrical Release Date: October 26, 2007
Release Date: September 4, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 21-25 of 99
 Do not believe the possitive reviews... This is horrible! August 6, 2008
K. durkin (USA)
1 out of 7 found this review helpful
Do not believe the positive reviews... This is horrible!
Why do people still believe Ethan Hawke has talent?
Thank God for Fast Forward should've been the title! July 31, 2008
TV guy
4 out of 8 found this review helpful
Too make this short and bittersweet: Before the Devil Knows Your Dead is virtually unwatchable. Lumet relied on a lazy and tiresome series of flashbacks (think Vantage Point which does the same and is equally unwatchable) to tell the most depressing and unrealistic story I've ever been asked to suspend my disbelief for. The flashbacks are the laziest and most annoying way to try and narrate a story and it winds up being tedium instead of building drama. I will forget this garbage and instead remember Lumet for his earlier masterpieces.
Depressing, dark and hopeless July 31, 2008
F. Nicke
3 out of 8 found this review helpful
While I normally like Lumet's work, this movie was utterly without any sense of hope. As such, it was an exercise in depression. Hawke and Hoffman's characters were without any meaningful redeeming virtues. This was apparently supposed to convey a sense of realism, but it comes across as "reality" TV. If you want to be depressed, watch this film. If you're seeking to be entertained, buy something else.
 Hoffman Shines Again July 28, 2008
W. Capodanno (Bellevue, WA)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This film was on my list of most over-looked of 2007 along with "The Lookout". While it did receive some critical acclaim, it certainly didn't last in the theaters for that long. Hopefully, many more people will "discover" this on DVD.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman once again demonstrates why he is the best American actor living. Certainly he gets appropriate recognition for performances like "Capote", but we also take many of his performances for granted -- like this one and movies like "Owning Mahowny". For any other actor, this would have been an Oscar worthy role -- for Hoffman, we routinely expect this level of performance.
Others have delved into the plot so I won't go deeply into it. Hoffman and Hawke play brothers ostensibly at the opposite end of the spectrum -- one fairly successful (hoffman) and the other a pretty dumb guy, in debt to his ex-wife and struggling to make ends meet (Hawke). However, Hoffman's character has an expensive drug addiction and a failing relationship with his wife (played superbly by Marisa Tomei).
Hoffman proposed a pretty safe robbery for a jewelery store in suburban Westchester to instantly get them cash to ease their financial woes. The one catch -- the store is owned and operated by their parents. The robbery goes awry and we see the devastating after effects on the brothers along with their father (Albert Finney).
The only small critique I have about this film is that the time-shifting technique, seeing the story unfold from each character's perspective, is getting quite common and doesn't really add any dimension to the film. I certainly think the film would have worked in a more conventional linear story telling fashion. However, I don't think this choice negatively impacted the film.
Ultimately, this is a film well worth seeing for the great directing by Sidney Lumet, superb lead and supporting performances and well-written screenplay. I wish this had achieved more commercial success, but it is a gem nonetheless.
IS IT JUST ME - OR IS ETHAN HAWKE THE SLIMIEST LOOKING ACTOR IN THE WORLD???????? July 28, 2008
Palyda (North Carolina, USA)
4 out of 9 found this review helpful
I had the misfortune to purchase this movie at Blockbuster this weekend out of the bin 3 for $20 . . . While I love Sidney Lumet - when people describe this as a dark film - that is a complete understatement! Even Albert Finney (the true victim in this film) is totally unlikeable. As for the two brothers - I have long wondered what ANYONE could ever see in Ethan Hawke - he is so hideous to look at! I would rather look at Phillip Seymour Hoffman naked anyday- and believe me that is not a sight I ever want to see again, either. The acting and directing was first rate but all of the characters were so utterly devoid of any shred of decency - it was sooooooo dark and when it was over I just sat there wondering why I watched the whole thing. Don't bother - but if you have to rent it DON'T be stupid enough to buy it at ANY price!
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