Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Impressions before seeing it
The concept sounded cool (two brothers rob their own parents' jewellery store) and my buddy Corey told me a while ago that it was really good.

How was it?
Technically, the climax of this movie (the actual robbery scene) is near the beginning. But that's okay, because this film is non-linear anyway. We get the robbery early on, and then we spend the rest of the movie watching both the build-up to and aftermath of this disastrous event. I think it works better that way, because it's not about the robbery, it's about the consequences of the robbery, and it would actually have been underwhelming if they had shown the results first and then revealed the robbery at the end. Now with the biggest scene so early, how do they keep it interesting? By only giving us part of the story in every scene. This is achieved through multiple viewpoints sort of in the style of Go, where we follow characters at different points and piece the story together when their paths cross. It's not as hard to follow as it might sound.

The talented A-list cast also helps make this stand out. Hawke seems to always play characters who are shady, or at least sneaky, but he's actually the lesser of two evils here because Hoffman plays the colder of the two brothers. Their relationship, nor their relationships with their parents, never struck me as anything resembling warm or loving, which may cause viewers to have trouble caring, but it also makes the robbery more believable and fuels a lot of the dramatic tension. And Tomei's character is sleeping around, so the only relationship in this movie that has any heart to it is the one between the mother and father, and you'll see why that's crucial if you watch the movie. This is not a feel-good movie by any means, but it's a very well done, well acted warning about the dangers of doing the wrong thing. The title is part of a full quote, "May you be in heaven a full half-hour before the devil knows you're dead," and my opinion is that this refers to Andy (Hoffman). The opening scene is the only time we ever really see him happy - his half-hour in heaven - and then after the robbery his wrongdoings begin to catch up with him, as if the devil has noticed and is in pursuit.

Recommendation
Unless you're for some reason opposed to non-linear cinema, there isn't really any reason not to see Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. I personally love non-linear stories because they're a breath of fresh air. Be prepared for a bit of heaviness, and watch this.