Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)

Let’s Rob a Jewelry Store Movie #1 (Please click the link to read my review of Reservoir Dogs) 

Please click the links to read my reviews of a few other Sidney Lumet movies, including: Night Falls on Manhattan, Q&A, The Morning After, The Verdict, Network, Dog Day Afternoon and Serpico. 

Synopsis: Botched burglary breaks bonds between broke, boneheaded brothers. 

Blurb From the DVD Jacket: “Oscar-winner Philip Seymour Hoffman is Andy, an overextended payroll executive who lures his younger brother, Hank (Ethan Hawke), into a larcenous scheme: the pair will rob a suburban mom-and-pop jewelry store that appears to be the quintessential easy target.” 

What Did I Learn?: 1) Heaven is a nice place to stay. 2) “Sorry” ain’t gonna pay the bills. 3) The thing about real estate accounting is that you can… add down the page or across the page and everything works out. Everyday, everything adds up. The… total is always the sum of its parts. It's, uh, clean. It's clear. Neat, absolute.

You Might Like This Movie If: You know that the best-laid plans don't always work out. 

Really?: 1) So, um….where are the cops in this movie? Wouldn't they canvass the area, check out the local car rental agencies, and interview the dead man's girlfriend? 2) Wouldn't Justin have a bit more security in his apartment than a single pistol, considering it contains thousands of dollars in cash and heroin? I man, nobody ever robs drug dealers, do they? 

Rating: Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead is an emotionally-powerful, and incredibly haunting movie that works both as a crime thriller and as a melodrama. BTDKYD isn’t an easy film to watch - especially near the end, when Andy’s and Hank’s lives begin to unravel, but it’s filled with knockout performances, especially from Hoffman and Albert Finney. Oh, and watch for Michael Shannon (best remembered as the looney Nelson Van Alden on Boardwalk Empire) in a small but memorable role. Highly recommended. 9/10 stars. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0292963/?ref_=nv_sr_1