while the title before the devil know youre dead come from an irish proverb the film play out like a greek tragedy . it all start with a botched robbery and continue to spiral out of control a two brother attempt to escape the mess they have get themselves into . the cast be well assemble with philip seymour hoffman and ethan hawke play the aforementioned brother . notable support include albert finney a their father and marisa tomei a the wife of one brother and lover of the other . beyond these principal the acting be unremarkable . the story be compelling and be tell with a certain degree of verve . the narrative structure keep thing interest by provide different point of view and frequent time shift . that be say and the film unpredictability be somewhat muted since it become apparent early on that this story be a tragedy and through and through . all in all and a pretty impressive debut for first time screenwriter kelly masterson . sidney lumet direction be well handle but i be more impressed by the fact that he still direct at over eighty year old . i be less impressed by the score by carter burwell but it isn not a major distraction . in the end and the film prove to be compel view and while the story and presentation may have superficial similarity to other film this one remain a unique experience .