April 25, 2008

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)

Great crime melodrama with amazing performances. Hoffman and Hawke excel in the leading roles, and Finney and Tomei are great in the supporting. There is some powerful stuff here, especially all the family relationships and their breakdown, the feeling of an omnipresent dread and an imminent doom, suppression of emotions and the explosion of thereof - everything you would want in a great movie. There are many amazing scenes here, Hoffman and Tomei as she's leaving, Finney as he finds out the truth about his wife's murder, Hoffman and Finney as they confront each other at the funeral and many more. The actual plot is nicely written, but it really is only a canvas for the different characters to interact on. Overall almost pitch-perfect as far as thrillers go.