BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD... IRISH TOAST OR RUTHLESS FAMILY FUN?! DISCUSS...It seems as if dysfunctional families are more the norm than the rule. In a story written so tightly, shaving inches off the reels of film and mastering such a precise plot, we dive into two a story about two brothers. Andy (Philip Seymour-Hoffman, certainly busy these days) and Hank (Ethan Hawke) are perhaps equally doomed. Andy is married to Gina (Marisa Tomei, who has fully come into her acting prime) and slowly we are sent back in time. With each trip, the details about the brothers, their lives and the whole plot unfolds and comes into focus. As the layers are revealed bit by bit, the story gets more and more repulsive. Andy is an arrogant prick who has a nasty cocaine habit in addition to his many lackluster qualities.
Hank is not the sharpest tack in the box. It is he who provides a moral compass of sorts, but his pace falls behind his brother's smarmy actions. Again, we are shown the results of traumatic childhoods, real or perceived. The lines blur, because it isn't black or white. There is a lot of gray and adults need to be accountable for their own lives and let go of the past or they may end up a plot line for some writer's dramatic script. So well written and driven by the characters, this cast and the script are all brilliant and clever. Films like these are a testament to how truly violent and scary the world is now. The unthinkable is served to us with the nightly news on our TV trays. Did somebody say Menendez?PICK: Outstanding script, sharp, clear characters and a very well laid out plot.
