"Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" (***)

Before seeing Sidney Lumet's "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead," I had mixed feelings; I didn't know what to expect. I like heist movies, but I don't find them that intoxicating. Then again, this is Sidney Lumet.

Andy and Hank are two brothers in desperate need of money, so they hatch a plan to rob their parent's jewelry store. This is the basic premise of "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead." The film begins with the robbery. Hank is responsible for executing the robbery, but things go astray when he enlists the help of an accomplice to do the actual heist. No weapons were supposed to be involved, but his friend brings a gun in the store. One thing leads to another, and the accomplice ends up dead and the mother (who is not even supposed to be working that shift) is left in critical condition. From here, the film chronicles the days leading up to and after the heist, focusing on the lives of Hank, Andy, and their father, Charles.

The story is nothing original, but it works more as a morality tale. Essentially, the film is about family and how the ones that are closest to you can turn out to be your worst enemies. The film is about searching for love. Andy does not feel like he belongs to his family. He was always pushed to the background, his brother receiving all the attention. He even goes as far to ask his father if he was adopted. Andy is the mastermind behind the heist, and it doesn't seem so much as a scheme to get money, but as payback to the those who were supposed to love him. Andy's wife, Gina, is also searching for love. Unable to find it in her husband anymore, she begins an affair with his brother who is struggling to pay child support to his ex-wife.

The storyline may seem simple enough, but the film works because of its intricately developed characters. Philip Seymour Hoffman is quite good as Andy. He gives a fiery, intense portrayal of a man whose life is going downhill. His marriage is crumbling, work sucks, his mother is in the hospital because of the heist, and he may not even get away with it. His world begins to close in on him, and he eventually explodes. Ethan Hawke deftly plays his brother, Hank, who is in similar, dire circumstances. It's a good performance from Hawke, but he is overshadowed by Hoffman. Marisa Tomei plays Andy's wife. Her character is cliched and for the most part she just walks around naked. The best of the bunch is Albert Finney, who plays Andy and Hank's father and the husband to their mother. He perfectly portrays a husband intent on finding his wife's murderer. His performance is similar to that of Tommy Lee Jones' in "In the Valley of Elah."

Overall, "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" is a better than average heist film that boasts some strong performances. It's a good story, but I felt like I had seen it before. I guess all heist movies just kind of seem the same to me. This film should be seen as a return to form, however, for the legendary Sidney Lumet. It's definitely a movie worth checking out.