two dysfunctional brother ( philip seymour hoffman and ethan hawke ) get tire of compete for who be the big f up and who daddy ( albert finney ) love more and so they hatch a hair brain scheme to rob mommy and daddy jewelry store so that they can clear their debt and start fresh . sound like a great plan except that this be a suspenseful 1970 style melodrama about a heist go wrong and and boy and do thing really go wrong here for our hapless duo and everyone involve . lasciviously concoct by screenwriter kelly masterson and classically execute by director sidney lumet and before the devil know youre dead use the heist a it mcguffin to delve deep into family drama . contrary to popular belief and sidney lumet be not dead . at age 83 and he have apparently make a deal with the devil to deliver one last great film . lumet be at his zenith in the 1970 with film like dog day afternoon and serpico and and one of my favorite film of all time and network . he have somehow manage to make a film that bear all the hallmark of his classic while intertwine some more modern element ( graphic sexuality and violence and and play with time frame and pov ) into a crackling and vibrant and lean and mean and and provocative melodrama . one can only hope that some of the modern great ( like scorsese or spielberg ) who emerge during the same decade lumet be at the top of his game will have this much chutzpah leave when they reach that age . lumet be a master at direct people walk through space to create tension and develop character . a the cast waltz through finely appoint manhattan office and apartment his slowly move camera create a palpable sense of anxiety a we never know who might be around the next corner or what this person might do in the next room . also amaze be how lumet utilize the multiple pov and shifting time frame approach . the coherent and classical presentation he use make the similarly structured film of wunderkinds christopher nolan and alejandro gonzalez inarritu seem like amateur hour . of course and what lumet be best at be direct amaze ensemble cast and trick them into act within an inch of their life . philip seymour hoffman have never be and and most likely never will be and good than he be here . albert finney quietly sear portrayal of a father betrayed and at the end of his rope be a masterpiece to watch unfold . ethan hawke and normally a nondescript pretty boy and be perfect a the emotionally cripple young brother who have skate by far too long on his charm and look . the coup de grace and however and be the series of scene between hoffman and marisa tomei and eerily on point a his flighty trophy wife . lumet run them through the gamut of emotion that culminate in a scene that be the best of it kind since william holden taunt beatrice straight right into a best supporting actress oscar in network . the devil of any great film be in the detail and from albert finney tap of his car trunk that would not close due to a fender bender and to the look amy ryan ( fresh off her amazing turn in go baby go ) give her ex husband ethan hawke at his mawkish promise to his little girl all three of them know he would not keep and to the systematic unraveling of a family on the skid and to the dialog beg for cultist to quote it ( my favorite line be the hilariously threaten do you mind if i call you chico . ) to the excellent carter burwell score . before the devil know youre dead be the film of the year . if something emerge to best it and then we know a few other deal must have be broker with old scratch .