Before The Devil Knows You're Dead

The Age

Thursday September 4, 2008

Philippa Hawker

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Hopscotch, 112mins, MA, thriller, 2007

3.5/5

Veteran director Sidney Lumet tells the tale of two messed-up New York brothers (Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke) caught up in an ugly scam of their own devising, whose twists gradually emerge. The film is pacy and downbeat, with an intricate flashback structure. But it is the performances, rather than the plot, that make it memorable - particularly Hoffman, as an evasive executive with a drug problem. And what makes this disc stand out is an excellent bonus, a commentary from Lumet, Hoffman and Hawke. It's much more interesting than these extras usually are. There are the inevitable effusive moments (usually preceded by the phrase "I love what you do in this bit") that always seem to come with a joint commentary but for the rest of the time it is an extended, revealing conversation, with plenty of intriguing reflections and observations from all three. Hawke proves himself to be a raconteur and an excellent interviewer, as he prods Lumet for recollections. Also included is an Australian short, The List, directed by Joel Edgerton.

DVD extras include: commentary; making-of; short