Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

[MikeBSG]

I just saw this film on DVD, and while I wouldn't classify it with "Lost in Translation" as the most overrated film of the last ten years, I have to say I felt a bit disappointed.

The opening half-hour is terrific. There is the scene in Brazil, the hold-up that goes wrong, and the way the loser Hank (ethan hawke) gets roped into the holdup.

But, to me, it seemed after that the film got slack and ponderous. Maybe I just didn't like Philip Seymore Hoffman's performance. But there didn't seem to be a lot of urgency in his flashbacks/scenes. Ethan Hawke, by contrast, was terrific.

In some ways, this was like "Pulp Fiction" with fractured chonology (I know that fractured chronology existed decades before) and "Fargo" with its focus on a crime that goes disastrously wrong, and while it was nice to see Sidney Lumet trying to stay current, the movie was only okay.

[mongoII]

This movie held my attention throughout. The performances were all good, especially that of Philip Seymour Hoffman as the elder son.
The premise was outstanding although the outcome devastating. Sidney Lumet still possesses his directing chops.