This entry was posted on Sunday, December 2nd, 2007 at 1:03 pm and is filed under B, Drama, Mob, Crime and Scam Movies, NEW ON VIDEO. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Director: Sidney Lumet
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei, Albert Finney.
Sidney Lumet is known for skillfully injecting atmosphere and mood into his films and this dark drama is no exception. He has a strong cast to work with and they do a fine job with a screenplay that is guaranteed to make you pretty uncomfortable as some really sleazy characters set out on a disturbing plan. The pace is slow and the story unfolds by jumping back and forth in time, which can be a little annoying, but holds the audience in suspense and keeps the interest level up. The dark subject matter, and hopelessly amoral characters, will not appeal to everyone, but there can be little debate that this is a well-crafted, and strongly performed feature. When was the last time Philip Seymour Hoffman gave a bad performance? Can you think of one? I can’t.
Philip Seymour Hoffman is Andy, a successful white collar worker who finds himself with a drug habit and a high-priced wife, played by Marisa Tomei. With these little issues, it’s no surprise that Andy is a little short on coin and needs a little extra income. One way to handle this would be to steal from work. It’s not a good solution, but it is the solution that Andy chooses and, surprise, surprise, things are soon worse. Now getting desperate, Andy comes up with a plan that could put a stop to any Sunday dinner invites. He plans a robbery of his parent’s jewelry store, and recruits his struggling, younger brother, Hank (Ethan Hawke) to pull it off. The plan is to use no violence and steal the stock, which is covered by insurance, anyway. Gee, that sounds harmless. What could possibly go wrong?
This is a deliciously evil film about some morally corrupt characters. It plays out like A Simple Plan, or Fargo (without the humor), so if you enjoyed those features then this is worth checking out. The pace is slow and the story takes a little while to draw you in. The script also jumps around alot, so make sure that you are paying enough attention or it will likely be difficult to follow. Now, paying attention is a colossal effort for me, but this one is worth it.
