Daniel Vigilante
Sandra 1
Michael ItaliaMovie: Before Te Devil Knows You’re Dead
Ethan Hawke as Hank Hanson is perfectly cast as a stress ridden divorcee with massive financial troubles (and emotional complexes), who is lured by his brother, Andy Hanson (Hoffman), to rob a “mom and pa” jewellery store. The only catch is, the store Andy has in mind is their actual mom and pa’s jewellery store which they have grown up working at and hence know the ins and outs of its functioning. That may already be giving away a little surprise that was set for the viewer about 20 minutes in, so I won’t spoil any more of the plot, except to say (and this isn’t spoiling anything as it occurs in the opening scene) that it goes drastically wrong.
Marisa Tomei is back to some form playing the Andy's sexed-up (and appallingly unfaithful) wife, though at times it was difficult to distinguish her dumb pouts with her acting. Albert Finney is also convincing as father Hanson, the vengeful old man with maybe a hint of senility, and again, at times it seemed difficult sometimes to distinguish the senility from the acting. But at the end of the day, it’s Hoffman who brings this film to the fore with this powerhouse performance of a fat drugged-up opportunist; a character he began his career playing in films such as Boogie Nights, only this time, he’s a classier fat drugged-up opportunist, though twice as devilish.
