Overview
A heist gone wrong leads to a spiraling descent into chaos and betrayal among family.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Brutal
- bleak
- tense
- paranoid
- serious movie night
- crime thriller marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly acclaimed Sidney Lumet's tense, intricately structured crime drama for its controlled direction, ensemble performances, and psychologically forceful portrait of family dysfunction.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The brothers' supposedly victimless robbery rapidly unravels after the plan is altered and an accomplice crosses its rules.
Andy and Hank's crime exposes long-standing tensions among the Hanson family and leaves relatives implicated in the fallout.
The robbery and its aftermath are presented through intercut perspectives rather than a single straightforward progression.
Jewelry stores, offices, homes, and family interiors become claustrophobic sites of suspicion, greed, and impending violence.
Films like Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, and why
Fargo
shared film noir atmosphere, morally compromised characters, escalating criminal miscalculation, and family dysfunction
The Killing
shared heist-gone-wrong structure, nonlinear revelation, bleak crime drama, and destructive greed
Mystic River
shared intimate crime storytelling, fractured chronology, family betrayal, and psychologically intense performances
Dog Day Afternoon
shared tense urban noir, criminal ineptitude, family pressure, and tragic consequences
Movie Details
- Director
- Sidney Lumet
- Release Date
- 2007-09-26
- Runtime
- 117 min
- Rating
- 7.1 / 10 (1813)
Cast
- Philip Seymour Hoffman
- Ethan Hawke
- Albert Finney
- Marisa Tomei
- Aleksa Palladino
- Michael Shannon
- Amy Ryan
- Sarah Livingston
- Brían F. O'Byrne
- Rosemary Harris
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Night Flight Plus, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Shout! Factory Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Before the Devil Knows You're Dead about?
- Two financially desperate brothers turn a supposedly harmless robbery into a devastating collapse of family, trust, and self-control.
- What is Before the Devil Knows You're Dead like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Before the Devil Knows You're Dead as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Before the Devil Knows You're Dead violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead as brutal.
- What did critics think of Before the Devil Knows You're Dead?
- Critics broadly acclaimed Sidney Lumet's tense, intricately structured crime drama for its controlled direction, ensemble performances, and psychologically forceful portrait of family dysfunction.
- Which films are like Before the Devil Knows You're Dead?
- Films with a similar feel include Fargo, The Killing, Mystic River, and Dog Day Afternoon.
- How long is Before the Devil Knows You're Dead?
- Before the Devil Knows You're Dead runs 117 minutes.
- Where can I watch Before the Devil Knows You're Dead?
- In United States, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead streams on Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Night Flight Plus, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Shout! Factory Amazon Channel.
