As movie characters go, you can't get much less sympathetic than Andy (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a smug suit with a bulging coke habit that even his high-flying corporate career can't pay for in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, a favorite at this year's Toronto Film Festival. When trouble comes calling, he ropes his loser brother Hank (Ethan Hawke), who's low on cash for different reasons, into a heist plot to rob a mom-and-pop jewelry shop.
Problem is, the mom and pop in question are actually the boys' parents. Things quickly spin out of control, going from bad to worse -- and not just because Marisa Tomei's sleeping with both brothers -- in this small, chilling story from Sidney Lumet (Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico), who, at 83, is still pegging you to the edge of your seat.
Watch the trailer here.
written on Wednesday Oct 24, 2007
the heist from hell.
