this intensely involve 2007 character drive suspense drama be like a big and juicy piece of shakespearean level steak from a master filmmaker who know how to draw out uncommonly ferocious and to the edge performance from his actor . consider for starter henry fonda lone dissent juror in twelve angry men and katharine hepburn delusional mary tyrone in long day journey into night and rod steiger conflict concentration camp survivor in the pawnbroker and william holden wintry lion in network and and paul newman alcoholic lawyer in the verdict . the list encompass some of the fine screen work of the past half century and and you can safely add philip seymour hoffman desperately control andy hanson to the rank . at 83 and director sidney lumet show no sign of octogenarian fatigue and and in fact and he revel in the melodramatic turn of first time screenwriter kelly masterson thickly plot script . the scale of the story be deceptively small a it focus on the moral compromise that unravel in a family where two brother have become desperate for immediate cash . woody allen follow a similar fraternal dynamic in his last film and the oddly pinched cassandra dream and but lumet be neither pinched nor cautious in his fierce approach to this inescapable tale of ambiguity and deception . the plot revolve around a crime that be mean to be victimless . embezzle fund from his real estate company payroll to keep his neglected wife gina happy and to satisfy an expensive drug habit and smooth talk andy be about to be expose in an irs audit . meanwhile and his young brother hank be a mass of post divorce and codependent insecurity fall way behind in his alimony and child support payment . andy concoct a supposedly foolproof plan to rob their parent suburban jewelry store while neither of them be suppose to be there . the goal be for the brother to collect the haul and and the parent to claim the insurance . murphy law intervenes in every possible way start with andy pressure hank to do the job himself . after some brotherly cajoling and hank agrees to it and but too scared to do it alone and he recruit a reckless and gun tot busboy to handle the robbery . by fate and the heist occur on the one day that andy and hank mother be open the shop and and thing quickly spiral out of control from there . although the back and forth storytelling technique be not new ( for example and alejandro gonzález iñárritu 21 gram ) and masterson approach work effectively in delineate certain event from multiple perspective so that you understand how each character be lead to the repercussion of the unfortunate event . the acting be pitch perfect start with hoffman rivet performance a andy and a machiavellian reptile whose cool exterior and innate amorality mask layer of resentment toward his family . i think he be great in tamara jenkins the savage and but he be even well here . lumet even draw a solid performance from the usually insufferable ethan hawke a hank and imbue him with the emasculated weakness that inform his every ill plan move . a their embattled father and albert finney act with his typical late career bluster and but he provide the necessary foundation for the oedipal level complexity . marisa tomei be a smart choice to play gina and a the actress economically key in on the responsive and watchful nature of a small but pivotal role . the estimable theater veteran rosemary harris ( now well know a peter parker aunt in the spider man trilogy ) have precious little time a the mother and a do amy ryan a hank bitter ex wife . there be scene that border on excessive and especially a the situation become increasingly desperate for the brother and but the principal inject such energetic brio to them that the flourish become forgivable . after the disappointment of the cartoonish find me guilty and it be refresh to see lumet in peak form here . the 2008 dvd offer terrifically informative commentary from lumet and hoffman and hawke and all of whom converse with ease and insight throughout . along with the original theatrical trailer and there be also a good than average 24 minute featurette and direct by sidney lumet represent how the devil be make and which feature on set footage and snippet of interview with lumet and two of the producer and the principal actor .