before the devil know youre dead start off promisingly and set up a simple heist that go awry and tell from vary perspective ( in rashomon style ) . at around the hour mark and sidney lumet transform this film into something that be so much more than the sum of it part while it eventually morph into a multi faceted family drama and explore the full realm of human emotion or relation and a the story come to it chill climax . a be the case with lumet and he manage to coax exceptional performance out of his star stud cast and without any notion of over act or hyperbole . philip seymour hoffman and in one of his best role and be a complex and mysterious and and interesting character and and oftentimes dwarf ethan hawke and who play his brother and hank . that not to say that hawke be not bad while in fact he be quite above adequate and in a troubled role that suit his style . marisa tomei be excellent for her relatively short appearance ( the fact that she bar her flesh add to this ) . albert finney character ( andy and hank father ) be the most intriguing and and in my opinion and he deserve a bit more screen time . amy ryan also perform her job adequately . before the devil know youre dead be not an exceptional movie and but it prove that lumet be still near the top of his game at the ( apparent ) twilight of an illustrious career . many of his characteristic and trademark appear here and not least of which involve the use of his character . infuse with a killer script ( no pun intend ) and smart dialogue and pacing and and a decent score and before the devil know youre dead be a must see . a truly underrated gem . positive . 3 star ( out of 4 ) . should just enter my top 250 at 248. highly recommend .