The movie's title comes from the Irish toast, 'May you be in Heaven half an hour before the Devil knows you're dead.' Unfortunately, everyone in the film is running about 35 minutes late.
Comment
09/18/08
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)
92
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:37
Fresh:34
Rotten:3
Average Rating:8/10
Consensus: A tense and effective thriller, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead marks a triumphant return to form for director Sidney Lumet.
Rated: R [See Full Rating]
Runtime: 2 hrs 3 mins
Genre: Family Interaction, Thriller, Infidelity, Theatrical Release, Brothers, Affairs
Theatrical Release:Oct 26, 2007 Limited
Box Office: $6,955,841
Synopsis: From the unexpectedly graphic opening shot, director Sidney Lumet proves he hasn't lost any of his bite with age. BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD is a riveting suspense thriller that retains the... [More]
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei, Albert Finney
Director: Sidney Lumet
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Reviews for Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Top CriticAs the Shadow used to say, the weed of crime bears bitter fruit, and Lumet has made a delicious pie out of it.
11/28/07
Top CriticYou feel Before the Devil Knows You're Dead more than you watch it. And the feeling is far from warm and fuzzy.
11/16/07
Top CriticAt a time when family movies are usurped by fantasies of sentimental feelgood, Lumet's latest -- the mangled-heist melodrama Before the Devil Knows You're Dead -- delivers a swift kick straight to the jewels.
11/16/07
Top CriticThe problem is not that the director is working but that his latest film is working too hard. Way too hard – this thing is melodrama running a marathon.
11/16/07
Top CriticThe family dynamics are skillfully rendered, the suspense is bruising and each man's performance is a revelation.
11/15/07
Top CriticWhat a movie. What a director.
11/09/07
Top CriticIf God is in the obvious details, Devil is in the ones you might tragically overlook.
11/09/07
Top CriticThere's no larger message other than that greed gives us something to hold on to even as it kills us.
11/09/07
Top CriticMr. Lumet has forgotten nothing, and still knows more than almost anyone about the elusive art of directing actors.
11/08/07
Top CriticBefore the Devil Knows You're Dead is often an uncomfortable film to sit through, but the rewards it offers make it well worth the effort.
11/08/07
Top Critic[Lumet] proves that at 83 he's still the master of the game.
11/03/07
Top CriticAn invigorating, refreshing and unusual thing to see one done so expertly.
11/02/07
Top CriticThis is no nostalgia trip taken by an 83-year-old director. It's a fierce, hot slap of a movie, a shameless melodrama with bite.
11/02/07
Top CriticSidney Lumet's Before the Devil Knows You're Dead is such a superb crime melodrama that I almost want to leave it at that. To just stop writing right now and advise you to go out and see it as soon as you can.
11/02/07
Top CriticThis ambitious and well-directed crime thriller, with an intricate flashback structure redolent of Reservoir Dogs, gives Philip Seymour Hoffman a fascinatingly ambiguous character to work with.
11/02/07
Top CriticLumet's film is a stunner.
11/02/07
Top CriticA sharply acted and highly entertaining morality play.
11/01/07
Top CriticLumet directs the script with the actor-centered efficiency that has served him well over a surprising array of projects.
11/01/07
Top CriticIn addition to being a study in great acting, this is a study in great directing. Filming with high-definition digital video cameras, Lumet weaves in and out of the action, proving to be as adroit with new technology as he was with old-school celluloid.
11/01/07
Top CriticLatest News for Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
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March 07, 2008:
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December 17, 2007:
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Dexter Make AFI's 2007 Best-Of List
If there's one thing the American Film Institute loves, it's a list -- and with the end of 2007 rapidly approaching, you know what that means: It's time to run down the AFI's... More...
December 14, 2007:
Atonement, Control Lead London Film Critics Noms
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