New Orleans Film Society

Synopsis

Masterfilmmaker Sidney Lumet directs this absorbing suspense thriller about a family facing the worst enemy of all—itself. Oscar-winner Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Andy, an overextended broker 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. 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. Oscar-winner Marisa Tomei plays Hoffman’s trophy wife, who is having a clandestine affair with Hawke. The stellar cast also includes Albert Finney as the family patriarch who pursues justice at all costs, completely unaware that the culprits he is hunting are his own sons. A classy, classic heist-gone wrong drama in the tradition of The Killing and Lumet’s own Dog Day Afternoon, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead is smart enough to know that we often have the most to fear from those who are near and dear.