12th Mar 08

WHAT
BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD

WHEN
OUT MARCH 20

WHERE
DENDY CINEMAS

WIN
ONE OF 25 DOUBLE PASSES. JUST EMAIL WIN@TWOTHOUSAND.COM.AU WITH THE SUBJECT LINE ‘BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW'

WATCH THE TRAILER
HERE

Sidney Lumet's SERPICO, DOG DAY AFTERNOON, and NETWORK are three of the highlights of 70s cinema. His output since has ranged from genuinely interesting to instantly forgettable - remaking CASSAVETES? Not for the faint hearted - and now, at 83 years old, his latest is BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD.

An old-fashioned male melodrama disguised as a one of those twisty crime thrillers that clogged cinemas all through the 90s, BEFORE THE DEVIL is mostly a showcase for its scenery-chewing actors. Albert Finney is never less than awesome. Philip Seymour Hoffman amps up his sleazy - and mumbly - charms. And Ethan Hawke is completely believable when he's this pathetic. (A karmic backlash for being so awful to Winona in REALITY BITES, perhaps?)

The film's obsession with fathers and sons doesn't leave much room for women, but Marisa Tomei's performance is an absolute scene-stealer - and that's not only due to her sudden embrace of mid-to-late-career nudity.

Disappointingly, though, these big, actorly moments don't add up like they should. BEFORE THE DEVIL wears its dramatic mechanisms too close to the surface. You end up feeling more for the performances behind these men than you do for the men themselves

By Martyn Pedler

Format: Cinema

Mood: Epic