BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD-2007-2 1/2 STARS

This movie starts off with a jewelry store robbery. Well, it actually opens up with a sex scene, but since I’m not a pervert like some people, I immediately skipped to the robbery. Yes, I know sex is is a part of everyday life, and so is crab lice, but I wouldn’t want to see that all over a TV screen either! So we have this guy robbin’ a jewelry store, while the owner was there, but she grabbed a gun, and pumped a piece of lead in him.

“Nice going grandma, but still, too risky…….what if you didn’t get to the gun in time?” So the robber gets shot, but unfortunately grandma didn’t finish the job, and Mr. Robber is able to get a shot off which injured her, but now she’s pissed off, and pulls the trigger one more time, ending Mr. Robber’s life for good. Now the accomplice sees his partner’s body flying through the front store window, and he wigs out before speeding off.

Mr. Accomplice gets to a phone to call some guy to tell him that the robbery was botched, and we are introduced to the characters through a flashback so we can find out what led up to this point. You know, Hollywood writers and directors are always trying to do obscure things with movies, that they get a little carried away sometimes.

For example, in this movie we have not one, but several flashbacks that run on different timelines that may confuse you. The first scene after the robbery takes place three days prior. Okay, I can deal with that, ’cause I can just follow the storyline from there. Then the Hollywood writers get carried away by throwing in flashbacks from four days ago, then the day of the robbery, then two days before the robbery, is this supposed to be cute or somethin’?

Anyway, there is so much drama in this movie, its guaranteed to entertain you, I promise. Andy Hanson (Philip Seymour Hoffman) a man with serious issues, cons his younger brother Hank (Ethan Hawke) into robbing their parents jewelry store. Now check this out, Andy doesn’t take part in the robbery, but since he’s the mastermind behind it, wants a cut of the money.

What’s really sad is the fact that Hank is so gullible, he actually goes along with this, but brings in another guy without consulting Andy, and now Grandma is dead as a result of that gunshot wound she suffered, when Mr. Robber got his one shot off.

Andy is in a lot of trouble as a result of embezzling money from his company as a result of a wicked drug problem, and this is happening because he never felt accepted by his dad when he was a child. “ANDY, STOP ACTING LIKE A WUSS AND GET OVER IT ALREADY!” I’m so damn tired of these movie characters that have a slightly dysfunctional childhood, and because of that, they can’t behave themselves in the everyday world.

Now Hank has his issues also. First of all, there’s something wrong with a guy who would let anybody talk him into robbing his parent’s jewelry store, even if no one gets hurt. But he’s got financial issues as well, as he falls behind in his child support payments. Oh, did I tell you that he’s having an affair with Andy’s wife? Yes folks, this movie is ten soap opera shows rolled up into one.

I guess if Dad was a jerk, I could go along with his son’s antisocial behavior, but he seemed like a normal everyday guy (until the end of the movie), and since I wasn’t convinced that he was a monster, I’m gonna give this movie 2 1/2 stars. However, if you are looking for drama on top of drama, see this movie! Maybe the real lesson to be learned is that no one (even parents) can ever be blamed for someone’s else’s screw ups, and that’s a tough lesson to learn!

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead [Blu-ray]

This entry was posted on 13. May 2008 at 02:53 and is filed under Drama. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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