Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Name: Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Crime
Released: October 26, 2007
Duration: 117 min
Rating: 84
Cast: Albert Finney, Ethan Hawke, Philip Seymour Hoffman

2007

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 37 Critics

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 365 Ratings

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8.3

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8.3	User Score Universal acclaim based on 365 Ratings

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BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD

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Movie Details & Credits

thinkfilm | Release Date: October 26, 2007

Starring: Albert Finney, Ethan Hawke, Philip Seymour Hoffman

Summary: Andy, an overextended broker, lures his younger brother--Hank--into a larcenous scheme: the pair will rob a suburban mom-and-pop jewelry store that appears to be the quintessential easy target. The problem is, the store owners are Andy and Hank's actual mom and pop--and--when the seemingly perfect crime goes awry, the damage lands right atAndy, an overextended broker, lures his younger brother--Hank--into a larcenous scheme: the pair will rob a suburban mom-and-pop jewelry store that appears to be the quintessential easy target. The problem is, the store owners are Andy and Hank's actual mom and pop--and--when the seemingly perfect crime goes awry, the damage lands right at their doorstep. (THINKFilm)… Expand

Director: Sidney Lumet

Genre(s): Drama, Thriller, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 117 min

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Awards & Rankings

18	#18 Best Movie of 2007
38	#38 Most Discussed Movie of 2007
66	#66 Most Shared Movie of 2007

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Village Voice - J. Hoberman

The movie grabs hold and runs you through the wringer. Read full review

100

San Francisco Chronicle - Mick LaSalle

Its virtues are velocity, energy, innovative storytelling - and something that seems even more the province of young directors: a certain heartlessness and ironic distance in the tone. Read full review

100

Slate - Dana Stevens

Offers the rare pleasure of watching a major director return to his own material and rework it 30 years later. This story of a pitiful jewel heist gone so profoundly wrong that it approaches the scope of Greek tragedy isn't quite a remake of "Dog Day Afternoon." Read full review

USA Today - Claudia Puig

One bad idea can unravel and ruin lives in unimaginably horrific ways.That's the concept underlying the riveting Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, a sharply acted and highly entertaining morality play. Read full review

Rolling Stone - Peter Travers

A dynamite film that ranks with the year's best. Read full review

Wall Street Journal - Joe Morgenstern

This is not a drama of shadings, but of ever-increasing intensity. Read full review

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) - Rick Groen

The problem is not that the director is working but that his latest film is working too hard. Way too hard – this thing is melodrama running a marathon. Read full review

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User Reviews

D-Slice

Mar 26, 2011

What a superb film! Incredibly inpactful and thrilling. Great performances all around, with a beautiful score and amazing writing to go hand in hand with the Sidney Lumet touch. How this film was snubbed for not even a single Oscar nomination, I will never understand. Michael Shannon andWhat a superb film! Incredibly inpactful and thrilling. Great performances all around, with a beautiful score and amazing writing to go hand in hand with the Sidney Lumet touch. How this film was snubbed for not even a single Oscar nomination, I will never understand. Michael Shannon and Albert Finney bring such great energy and power; Hoffman and Hawke really express the confusion in the **** that takes place. The melodramatic performances rarely seem over done because the thrill is amped up to 14. This film physically punched me in the face: no ****… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

[Anonymous}

Feb 24, 2008

Bizarre premise with superb cast, outrageously funny, with oh so many levels of recognizable relationships,

0 of 0 users found this helpful

YoursTruly

Jul 22, 2013

Awesome frickin' movie. Nobody captures the debilitating affects of stress and concern like Philip Seymour Hoffman. He and Ethan Hawke are both great here. This one is a ride. Loved it.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

BillyS.

Nov 24, 2007

Regardless of its box office receipts, there's one thing you can always count on in a Sidney Lumet film, actors giving award worthy performances. In Before The Devil Knows You're Dead, Lumet can add Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney and Marisa Tomei to his gallery Regardless of its box office receipts, there's one thing you can always count on in a Sidney Lumet film, actors giving award worthy performances. In Before The Devil Knows You're Dead, Lumet can add Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney and Marisa Tomei to his gallery of actors who do their best work under his midas touch. (18 acting Oscar nominations)The man is the Ever-ready bunny of directors, he just keeps going and going and if it says "A Film by Sidney Lumet", I'll keep going and going and...… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

DanB.

Dec 26, 2007

It is well-done and acted, but it feels much longer than its length, not one of the characters is even a little likeable, and the end is not believable. Any one of these things alone is fine... together, in this movie... eh. I felt like the film was trying to be "gritty" or "honest" or It is well-done and acted, but it feels much longer than its length, not one of the characters is even a little likeable, and the end is not believable. Any one of these things alone is fine... together, in this movie... eh. I felt like the film was trying to be "gritty" or "honest" or "real". But it wasn't, because every character was so ugly and it's not "real" that one group of people will be so dysfunctional.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

KHenderson

May 10, 2008

Disappointingly terrible and implausible ending. The dark themes are fine but the writers seems to have lost their footing about how to resolve their story. Sure there's some nice acting here and there but the story fails. Miss it if you can!

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Nov 24, 2007

Terrible. Do not step foot in that theater. This is the worst film I have ever seen in my life,( I don't think I have ever said that!) and I am an avid film buff. I can not imagine how the reviewers came to their ratings, the only thing I can imagine is either they were bought out, or Terrible. Do not step foot in that theater. This is the worst film I have ever seen in my life,( I don't think I have ever said that!) and I am an avid film buff. I can not imagine how the reviewers came to their ratings, the only thing I can imagine is either they were bought out, or are completely brainwashed and deluded in to thinking that dark pointless depressing stories equal depth. And it could not be farther from the truth. If you feel like seeing sad characters you don't care about do things that make you wretch, and leave feeling depressed, then go for it, otherwise, know this is the most over rated film on the planet. The reviewers were blinded by the director's fame and their misguided notion that grim stories equal edgy and profound, when that idea could not be more passe'. I should have followed the lead of the several people who walked out during the middle. BUYER BEWARE.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful

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