Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Date: December 13
Location: Regal Delray Beach

I'm sorry to say I was disappointed with this film, in part because I had such high expectations going in. It's beautifully acted (Philip Seymour Hoffman is Oscar-worthy once again) and spins a nice web of suspense, but ultimately is just doesn't hold together. The time-shifting, multiple-perspective narrative sets you up for a payoff that never comes — ultimately it seems the complex plotting is there to mask the fact that this is really just a film about a heist gone bad. I didn't buy into some of the family dynamics, particularly those dealing with Albert Finney's underwritten character. Big points, though, for Marisa Tomei, who keeps getting sexier as she gets older. She spends much of the film in various states of undress, and does some fine acting to boot.