“I'm robbing a bank because they got money here. That's why I'm robbing it”
-- Sonny from Dog Day Afternoon
“We're all doing time. Even the screws.”
-- Joe Roberts from The Hill
“I was married for four years, and pretended to be happy; and I had six years of analysis, and pretended to be sane. My husband ran off with his boyfriend, and I had an affair with my analyst, who told me I was the worst lay he'd ever had.”
-- Diana Christensen from Network
Sidney Lumet is an institution. He is timeless. He is the hardest working director out there. At the age of 83, he has made an incredible film, Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead. He has turned Kelly Masterson’s first screenplay into a powerful and tragic crime drama. Most directors slow down, but like John Huston before him and Clint Eastwood, he shows no signs of slowing down-- his career that started out in the golden age of television. He made the successful crossover into feature films. The hits include Twelve Angry Men, The Fugitive Kind, The Pawnbroker, Fail Safe, Network, Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico, The Hill, The Verdict, Running On Empty, The Prince Of The City, Q & A, Night Falls On Manhattan, and many others. He directed some of the most important films of every decade. I would be the last person to call his latest film a comeback. Find Me Guilty, while not a box office hit, showcased Vin Diesel in one of his best roles. The film was further proof that no one can make a courtroom drama as exciting as Mr. Lumet. One wonders why he bothered with a remake of John Cassavates Gloria in 1999-- Sharon Stone is no Gena Rowlands. Still, the good greatly outweigh the bad in his career.
On the surface, Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead, is a jewelry store heist gone horribly wrong. This heist film has many layers to it. The chronology of the film is told out of sequence, but the fractures only heighten the layers of storytelling. It is not done for flash, but for depth of characterization. The robbery at the heart of the film is the epitome of everything that can go wrong. So wrong, that the ripple effects reach further than anyone would ever imagine. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays, Andy, a debt ridden payroll manger at a Manhattan real estate office, who ensnares his younger brother, Hank (Ethan Hawke) into a criminal scheme-- the robbery of a suburban strip mall jewelry store. It sounds like an easy target-- all too easy. There is one problem with this whole operation. The jewelry store is owned by their parents. Andy assures Hank that nothing will go wrong. It is a “victimless” crime; the insurance will cover the loss. This is too good to be true. Things go wrong, horribly wrong. The day of the robbery is the beginning of the end. What unfolds throughout the fractured narrative is as inventive, desperate, depressing and evil as anything I have seen in many years.
The genius of Lumet’s film is that it is so much more than a simple heist gone wrong film. I would put this film right on par with Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing and John Huston’s The Asphalt Jungle. I am by no means discounting any of the fine films that have come in between these films. The Lookout, Reservoir Dogs, City On Fire, and the original version of The Getaway are all excellent films, but Lumet takes things a step further. His film is Greek Tragedy. Through the brothers, Andy and Hank we witness the disintegration of family, trust and loyalty. Hoffman’s Andy is one of the most sinister characters he has ever played. Andy is a fuller portent of evil than his Dan Mahowny in Owning Mahowny. The virulent cocktail of desperation and ruthlessness goes much further than his thuggish turn as Dean Trumbell in Punch-Drunk Love. His Oscar winning turn as Truman Capote only tempted us with the actor’s capability toward playing darker characters. Hoffman’s Andy has a nasty heroin habit that his eating into his funds. His extracurricular activities are forcing him into debt. Andy feels he is owed something from his parents. We get the impression he was jealous of Andy, who will always be the baby of the family. Andy is the antithesis of Lumet’s iconic Howard Beale, played by Peter Finch in Network. Andy is mad as hell, but his anger eats away and corrodes his spine. His inward desperation destroys everyone around him.
His younger brother, Hank, is also having trouble making ends meat. He has enough trouble paying child support for his daughter. Both brothers work at the same firm.
As Hank, Ethan Hawke delivers one of his best performances. To be honest, I have no idea why I was ever hard on him in the first place. He has done solid work off and on for many years. Training Day, Gattaca, Reality Bites, Before Sunrise, and Dead Poet’s Society featured very good performances from him, but it is his performance as Hank that he will be remembered. While he is the kinder of the two brothers, he is no saint. He is having an affair with his brother’s wife, Gina (Marisa Tomei). He employs an accomplice for the robbery which does not work out well for anyone.
The two sons live in the shadow of a truly god-like father. Albert Finney plays the family patriarch. As Charles, he towers over the boys. He is the epitome of the middle class American Dream success story. He and his wife have done very well for themselves and operate a thriving suburban mom and pop jewelry store in the suburbs. Albert Finney has never been better. It is safe to say, he has screen presence. Recent films like The Bourne Ultimatum, Big Fish, Simpatico, The Gathering Storm and Erin Brockovich reminded us why he has remained so relevant. Two For The Road, Under The Volcano, Miller’s Crossing, Tom Jones and Shoot The Moon were causes for celebration. Finney’s Charles haunts the whole film. His pull is everywhere. He put all his energy into his work to provide for his family. His sons, specifically, Andy, have used avarice and desperation to destroy all that hard work in the span of a Saturday morning. I will not give away anything else. This film needs to be experienced as a cathartic discovery for the viewer.
A crime that goes horrifically wrong underscores a modern American tragedy. Andy and Hank are not really criminals. They are a cross breed of the lowlifes who made up some of Jim Thompson’s best work and the characters that populated Lumet’s other films such as Dog Day Afternoon, Family Business or The Anderson Tapes. The two brothers are metaphors for the disintegration of the Middle class in American today. We see in them the all too real horrors of what is happening in our country right now-- the recent collapse of the housing bubble which has lead to foreclosures and bankruptcies. The film plays like a cinematic version of Paul Krugman’s bi-weekly column for the New York Times. Their actions destroy not only themselves, but their family and all of those around them. Once again, Sidney Lumet is riding the whirlwind.
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