Just saw "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead," directed by Sydney Lumet and starring Ethan Hawk, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Marisa Tomei's breasts, which stole the show.
Seriously, the movie was OK but way too long and Hoffman seemed to be going through the motions. Now admittedly his going through the motions is still 95% better than most actors best, but nonetheless he didn't break new ground. Critics have raved about this film and I'm not sure why. Hey, I love Lumet too. "Serpico" and "Dog Day Afternoon" are two of my favorites, but this was puffed up with a lot of hot air and not much to keep me interested in the outcome.
I'm not a critic, I don't get into plots or styles but I will say that the other thing this movie did which annoyed me and which a lot of movies are doing now is the whole time shifting thing. Like "Michael Clayton," "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" keeps going backwards and forwards almost as if it hopes that the constant shifts will keep us too busy trying to figure out the timeline to worry about the weak plot. I know Tarantino wasn't the first to use this device, but it is safe to say that he is the one that led everyone else to now start doing this. And hey, sometimes it can work, but too often it seems like a forced device by a director looking for one more gimmick to wow critics. If your story isn't good enough to be told from start to finish without all the bouncing around, perhaps you need to rethink your script.
I know, who the hell am I to question a great like Lumet? Fair enough. But no one else in the theatre seemed to be having a great time either, except for the two idiots behind me who kept chatting rudely through most of the flick. If I could've, I would've time shifted back and taken a different seat!.
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1 comment:
you have to tell them politely to 'shut up'. A nice long Shhhhh usually works for me. We can be so rude sometimes. Sorry.
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