Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Encyclopedia
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead is a 2007 crime
drama directed by Sidney Lumet
and written by Kelly Masterson
. It stars Philip Seymour Hoffman
, Ethan Hawke
, Marisa Tomei
, and Albert Finney
. The title comes from the Irish
saying: "May you be in heaven a full half-hour before the devil
knows you're dead." The film is told in non-linear time, repeatedly going back and forth in time. Some scenes are shown from various points of view. It was Lumet's last feature film before he died in 2011.
The film received critical acclaim, and was selected as one of 2007's ten most influential American films by the American Film Institute
at the 2007 AFI Awards
.
Andy Hanson (Hoffman) is a finance executive who, facing an upcoming audit, is in desperate need of money to cover funds he embezzled from his employer. His brother Hank (Hawke) needs money to pay child support and his daughter's private school tuition. Meanwhile, Hank has been having a long-standing affair with Andy's wife, Gina (Marisa Tomei
), who has been unsatisfied with her marriage.
Andy devises a plan to rob their parents' jewelry store, to which Hank reluctantly agrees. Andy argues that he cannot go himself because he has been in the neighborhood recently, and could therefore be recognized. They assume that only Doris, an elderly woman who works for their parents, will be in the store. Andy states that just a toy gun is needed and that it is a victimless crime, because insurance will repay their parents for the stolen items. Andy plans to fence the jewelry via a New York City
dealer his father knows, and expects to net about $120,000 from the robbery.
Without consulting Andy, Hank hires Bobby Lasorda (Brian F. O'Byrne
), an acquaintance who is an experienced thief, to help him in the robbery. Bobby reveals a real gun and decides he will commit the robbery himself; Hank just needs to wait in the car. Unbeknown to the robbers, the brothers' mother Nanette (Rosemary Harris
) happens to be filling in for Doris. The robbery goes awry when Nanette pulls a hidden gun on Bobby, causing a shootout; Bobby dies on the scene, and Nanette falls into a coma, dying a week later in the hospital after her husband Charles (Finney) agrees to take her off life support. Charles, unsatisfied with the police's help, decides to investigate on his own, and he becomes obsessed with finding information about the crime and others involved in it.
Shortly after the botched robbery, Hank is confronted by Bobby's brother-in-law Dex (Michael Shannon
) who demands financial compensation for Bobby's death to provide for his sister, Chris (Aleksa Palladino
), Bobby's widow.
Meanwhile, while Andy is away from his office dealing with his mother's death, his superiors at work repeatedly try to contact him regarding irregularities in his department's accounts that have been revealed by the audit. At the wake for Nanette, Andy and Charles have a complex and emotional exchange, wherein Charles states he loves Andy despite their long-standing differences; Andy says he has always felt like an outsider in his father's house. When Andy questions his biological heritage, Charles slaps him. Andy and Gina immediately depart, and on the drive home Andy has an emotional breakdown over his relationship with his father. Later, at home, Gina tells Andy his boss has been trying to get in touch with him, and expresses her frustration with their marriage and Andy's growing coldness. Andy, preoccupied with covering up his embezzlement and trying to help Hank deal with Dex's blackmail, hardly reacts when Gina announces she is leaving him. Her desperate attempt to extract an emotional response from him – revealing her affair with Hank – fails, and she leaves.
Charles, searching for information about the robbery, visits the same fence Andy had contacted in New York City. After an acrimonious exchange that indicates Charles and the jeweler have known and disliked each other for decades, the jeweler hands Andy's business card to Charles, revealing to Charles that Andy recently came to him looking to fence some jewels. Charles immediately goes looking for Andy.
At this time, Andy decides to resolve the blackmail situation with Hank by robbing a heroin dealer that he frequents. At the dealer's apartment, Andy and Hank overpower the dealer and steal his money. Hank is shocked when Andy kills the dealer and a client who happened to be present. The brothers then go to pay off Dex, but Andy impulsively kills him from fear of continued blackmail. Andy appears ready to kill Chris (Bobby's wife) when Hank objects. Andy turns the gun on Hank, revealing that he knows about Hank and Gina's relationship. Hank begs Andy to kill him, but Andy hesitates. As Andy pauses over whether to shoot his brother, Chris shoots Andy with her brother's gun, wounding him. Hank leaves his brother and guiltily leaves some of the money behind for Chris before fleeing with the money, drugs and paraphernalia they robbed from the heroin dealer.
After leaving the fence, Charles tailed Andy. He followed Andy from his apartment tower, watched as he went to Hank's apartment, then followed his sons to their meeting with Chris, and finally followed Andy to the hospital where the paramedics took his wounded son. Andy breaks down and vulnerably apologizes to his estranged father for everything, explaining Nanette's death was an accident. Charles seemingly accepts his apology. Charles then attaches Andy's heart monitor to himself and suffocates his son to death with a pillow. Andy struggles to stop his father, but in his weakened condition he is over-powered. As nurses rush to help Andy, Charles walks away.
video after experimenting with the format on the television series 100 Centre Street
. At a press conference at the 2007 New York Film Festival
, Lumet called shooting on film "a pain in the ass," and predicted that as soon as distributors and exhibitors could agree on a digital projection format, photographic film
would be rendered obsolete. Filming of the primary robbery scene in the film took place at the Bay Terrace Shopping Center in Bayside, Queens
, New York
.
The scenes where Andy Hanson (Philip Seymour Hoffman) uses heroin were filmed in an apartment on a high floor on the southwest corner of Trump World Tower
. This can be deduced from the location and angle of the Chrysler Building and the Empire State building seen through the window.
The scenes where Hank Hanson (Ethan Hawke) stops at a gas station to change in the restroom and uses a payphone to call Andy (Hoffman) were filmed on South Broadway in Yonkers, New York
.
The climactic scene of the film where Andy Hanson (Hoffman) is shot was filmed on West 45th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues.
on September 13, 2007. It opened in France on September 26, 2007. The film made its American debut on October 12, 2007 at the New York Film Festival
.
, 88% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 135 reviews. On Metacritic
, the film had an average score of 84 out of 100, based on 36 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
Time
magazine's Richard Schickel
named the film one of the top 10 films of 2007, ranking it at #3, saying "At one level the movie is a wonderfully intricate exploration of family dysfunction. At another, it's a coolly controlled examination of increasingly insane criminal ineptitude. Either way you look at it, this is a hypnotizing film from one of our great masters." Roger Ebert
gave the film four stars, calling it "superb" and its director, Sidney Lumet, a "living treasure."
Top 10 lists
The film appeared on many critics' top 10 lists of the best films of 2007.
in the United States on October 26, 2007 in two theaters, grossing $73,837 in its opening weekend. In total, the film grossed over $25 million worldwide.
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
drama directed by Sidney Lumet
Sidney Lumet
Sidney Lumet was an American director, producer and screenwriter with over 50 films to his credit. He was nominated for the Academy Award as Best Director for 12 Angry Men , Dog Day Afternoon , Network and The Verdict...
and written by Kelly Masterson
Kelly Masterson
Kelly Masterson is an American screenwriter, playwright and writer who currently lives in New Jersey. He wrote the screenplay for the film Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, for which he is best known. Before moving to New York to stage several of his early plays, he studied Theology at the...
. It stars Philip Seymour Hoffman
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Philip Seymour Hoffman is an American actor and director. Hoffman began acting in television in 1991, and the following year started to appear in films...
, Ethan Hawke
Ethan Hawke
Ethan Green Hawke is an American actor, writer and director. He made his feature film debut in 1985 with the science fiction movie Explorers, before making a supporting appearance in the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society which is considered his breakthrough role...
, Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei is an American stage, film and television actress. Following her work on As The World Turns, Tomei came to prominence as a supporting cast member on The Cosby Show spinoff A Different World in 1987...
, and Albert Finney
Albert Finney
Albert Finney is an English actor. He achieved prominence in films in the early 1960s, and has maintained a successful career in theatre, film and television....
. The title comes from the Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
saying: "May you be in heaven a full half-hour before the devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
knows you're dead." The film is told in non-linear time, repeatedly going back and forth in time. Some scenes are shown from various points of view. It was Lumet's last feature film before he died in 2011.
The film received critical acclaim, and was selected as one of 2007's ten most influential American films by the American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
at the 2007 AFI Awards
American Film Institute Awards 2007
The American Film Institute Awards 2007 honored the ten most influential American motion pictures and television shows of 2007, chosen by juries assembled by the American Film Institute...
.
Plot
Note: The story is explained here in its chronological order, rather than the way it unfolds in the film.Andy Hanson (Hoffman) is a finance executive who, facing an upcoming audit, is in desperate need of money to cover funds he embezzled from his employer. His brother Hank (Hawke) needs money to pay child support and his daughter's private school tuition. Meanwhile, Hank has been having a long-standing affair with Andy's wife, Gina (Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei is an American stage, film and television actress. Following her work on As The World Turns, Tomei came to prominence as a supporting cast member on The Cosby Show spinoff A Different World in 1987...
), who has been unsatisfied with her marriage.
Andy devises a plan to rob their parents' jewelry store, to which Hank reluctantly agrees. Andy argues that he cannot go himself because he has been in the neighborhood recently, and could therefore be recognized. They assume that only Doris, an elderly woman who works for their parents, will be in the store. Andy states that just a toy gun is needed and that it is a victimless crime, because insurance will repay their parents for the stolen items. Andy plans to fence the jewelry via a New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
dealer his father knows, and expects to net about $120,000 from the robbery.
Without consulting Andy, Hank hires Bobby Lasorda (Brian F. O'Byrne
Brían F. O'Byrne
Brían Francis O'Byrne is an Irish actor who works mostly in the United States. He was born in Mullagh, County Cavan.O'Byrne first attracted notice for his performances in the Martin McDonagh plays The Beauty Queen of Leenane as Pato Dooley and The Lonesome West...
), an acquaintance who is an experienced thief, to help him in the robbery. Bobby reveals a real gun and decides he will commit the robbery himself; Hank just needs to wait in the car. Unbeknown to the robbers, the brothers' mother Nanette (Rosemary Harris
Rosemary Harris
Rosemary Ann Harris is an English actress and a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame. Throughout her career she has been nominated for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award and has won a Golden Globe, an Emmy, a Tony Award, an Obie, and five Drama Desk Awards.-Early life:Harris was born in...
) happens to be filling in for Doris. The robbery goes awry when Nanette pulls a hidden gun on Bobby, causing a shootout; Bobby dies on the scene, and Nanette falls into a coma, dying a week later in the hospital after her husband Charles (Finney) agrees to take her off life support. Charles, unsatisfied with the police's help, decides to investigate on his own, and he becomes obsessed with finding information about the crime and others involved in it.
Shortly after the botched robbery, Hank is confronted by Bobby's brother-in-law Dex (Michael Shannon
Michael Shannon (actor)
Michael Corbett Shannon is an American stage, film, and television actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Revolutionary Road...
) who demands financial compensation for Bobby's death to provide for his sister, Chris (Aleksa Palladino
Aleksa Palladino
Aleksa Palladino is an Italian American actress and singer, perhaps best known for her lead roles in Manny & Lo, The Adventures of Sebastian Cole, Find Me Guilty, Wrong Turn 2: Dead End, and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead.-Life and career:Palladino was born in New York City, where she grew up...
), Bobby's widow.
Meanwhile, while Andy is away from his office dealing with his mother's death, his superiors at work repeatedly try to contact him regarding irregularities in his department's accounts that have been revealed by the audit. At the wake for Nanette, Andy and Charles have a complex and emotional exchange, wherein Charles states he loves Andy despite their long-standing differences; Andy says he has always felt like an outsider in his father's house. When Andy questions his biological heritage, Charles slaps him. Andy and Gina immediately depart, and on the drive home Andy has an emotional breakdown over his relationship with his father. Later, at home, Gina tells Andy his boss has been trying to get in touch with him, and expresses her frustration with their marriage and Andy's growing coldness. Andy, preoccupied with covering up his embezzlement and trying to help Hank deal with Dex's blackmail, hardly reacts when Gina announces she is leaving him. Her desperate attempt to extract an emotional response from him – revealing her affair with Hank – fails, and she leaves.
Charles, searching for information about the robbery, visits the same fence Andy had contacted in New York City. After an acrimonious exchange that indicates Charles and the jeweler have known and disliked each other for decades, the jeweler hands Andy's business card to Charles, revealing to Charles that Andy recently came to him looking to fence some jewels. Charles immediately goes looking for Andy.
At this time, Andy decides to resolve the blackmail situation with Hank by robbing a heroin dealer that he frequents. At the dealer's apartment, Andy and Hank overpower the dealer and steal his money. Hank is shocked when Andy kills the dealer and a client who happened to be present. The brothers then go to pay off Dex, but Andy impulsively kills him from fear of continued blackmail. Andy appears ready to kill Chris (Bobby's wife) when Hank objects. Andy turns the gun on Hank, revealing that he knows about Hank and Gina's relationship. Hank begs Andy to kill him, but Andy hesitates. As Andy pauses over whether to shoot his brother, Chris shoots Andy with her brother's gun, wounding him. Hank leaves his brother and guiltily leaves some of the money behind for Chris before fleeing with the money, drugs and paraphernalia they robbed from the heroin dealer.
After leaving the fence, Charles tailed Andy. He followed Andy from his apartment tower, watched as he went to Hank's apartment, then followed his sons to their meeting with Chris, and finally followed Andy to the hospital where the paramedics took his wounded son. Andy breaks down and vulnerably apologizes to his estranged father for everything, explaining Nanette's death was an accident. Charles seemingly accepts his apology. Charles then attaches Andy's heart monitor to himself and suffocates his son to death with a pillow. Andy struggles to stop his father, but in his weakened condition he is over-powered. As nurses rush to help Andy, Charles walks away.
Cast
- Philip Seymour HoffmanPhilip Seymour HoffmanPhilip Seymour Hoffman is an American actor and director. Hoffman began acting in television in 1991, and the following year started to appear in films...
as Andy Hanson - Ethan HawkeEthan HawkeEthan Green Hawke is an American actor, writer and director. He made his feature film debut in 1985 with the science fiction movie Explorers, before making a supporting appearance in the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society which is considered his breakthrough role...
as Hank Hanson - Albert FinneyAlbert FinneyAlbert Finney is an English actor. He achieved prominence in films in the early 1960s, and has maintained a successful career in theatre, film and television....
as Charles Hanson - Marisa TomeiMarisa TomeiMarisa Tomei is an American stage, film and television actress. Following her work on As The World Turns, Tomei came to prominence as a supporting cast member on The Cosby Show spinoff A Different World in 1987...
as Gina Hanson - Rosemary HarrisRosemary HarrisRosemary Ann Harris is an English actress and a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame. Throughout her career she has been nominated for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award and has won a Golden Globe, an Emmy, a Tony Award, an Obie, and five Drama Desk Awards.-Early life:Harris was born in...
as Nanette Hanson - Brian F. O'ByrneBrían F. O'ByrneBrían Francis O'Byrne is an Irish actor who works mostly in the United States. He was born in Mullagh, County Cavan.O'Byrne first attracted notice for his performances in the Martin McDonagh plays The Beauty Queen of Leenane as Pato Dooley and The Lonesome West...
as Bobby Lasorda - Aleksa PalladinoAleksa PalladinoAleksa Palladino is an Italian American actress and singer, perhaps best known for her lead roles in Manny & Lo, The Adventures of Sebastian Cole, Find Me Guilty, Wrong Turn 2: Dead End, and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead.-Life and career:Palladino was born in New York City, where she grew up...
as Chris Lasorda - Michael ShannonMichael Shannon (actor)Michael Corbett Shannon is an American stage, film, and television actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Revolutionary Road...
as Dex - Amy RyanAmy RyanAmy Ryan is an American actress. She has been nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe for her performance in Gone Baby Gone and is also known for her roles in the HBO series The Wire, playing Port Authority Officer Beadie Russell; In Treatment, playing psychiatrist Adele Brousse; and The...
as Martha Hanson - Sarah Livingston as Danielle Hanson
- Jordan GelberJordan Gelber-Broadway:He is known for originating the role of struggling comedian Brian in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Avenue Q. Gelber also performed on Broadway in Arthur Miller's All My Sons as Frank Lubey...
as Agent
Production
Lumet made the decision to shoot Before the Devil Knows You're Dead on high definitionHigh-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
video after experimenting with the format on the television series 100 Centre Street
100 Centre Street
100 Centre Street is an American legal drama created by Sidney Lumet and starring Alan Arkin.-Premise:The show takes its name for the street address of the criminal division of the New York Supreme Court for New York County. The show aired in the United States on the A&E Network cable television...
. At a press conference at the 2007 New York Film Festival
New York Film Festival
The New York Film Festival has been a major film festival since it began in 1963 in New York. The films are selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center...
, Lumet called shooting on film "a pain in the ass," and predicted that as soon as distributors and exhibitors could agree on a digital projection format, photographic film
Photographic film
Photographic film is a sheet of plastic coated with an emulsion containing light-sensitive silver halide salts with variable crystal sizes that determine the sensitivity, contrast and resolution of the film...
would be rendered obsolete. Filming of the primary robbery scene in the film took place at the Bay Terrace Shopping Center in Bayside, Queens
Bayside, Queens
Bayside is a suburban neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York, New York in the United States. Bayside is known as one of the most expensive areas to live in Queens, with well kept homes and landscaping...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
The scenes where Andy Hanson (Philip Seymour Hoffman) uses heroin were filmed in an apartment on a high floor on the southwest corner of Trump World Tower
Trump World Tower
Trump World Tower is a residential skyscraper at 845 United Nations Plaza in Manhattan, New York City. Construction began in 1999 and concluded in 2001...
. This can be deduced from the location and angle of the Chrysler Building and the Empire State building seen through the window.
The scenes where Hank Hanson (Ethan Hawke) stops at a gas station to change in the restroom and uses a payphone to call Andy (Hoffman) were filmed on South Broadway in Yonkers, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
The climactic scene of the film where Andy Hanson (Hoffman) is shot was filmed on West 45th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues.
Release
The film premiered on September 6, 2007 at the Deauville Festival of American Cinema in France. It was also shown at the Toronto International Film FestivalToronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
on September 13, 2007. It opened in France on September 26, 2007. The film made its American debut on October 12, 2007 at the New York Film Festival
New York Film Festival
The New York Film Festival has been a major film festival since it began in 1963 in New York. The films are selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center...
.
Critical reception
The film received very positive reviews from critics. As of January 18, 2008 on the review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, 88% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 135 reviews. On Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, the film had an average score of 84 out of 100, based on 36 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine's Richard Schickel
Richard Schickel
Richard Warren Schickel is an American author, journalist, and documentary filmmaker. He is a film critic for Time magazine, having also written for Life magazine and the Los Angeles Times Book Review....
named the film one of the top 10 films of 2007, ranking it at #3, saying "At one level the movie is a wonderfully intricate exploration of family dysfunction. At another, it's a coolly controlled examination of increasingly insane criminal ineptitude. Either way you look at it, this is a hypnotizing film from one of our great masters." Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film four stars, calling it "superb" and its director, Sidney Lumet, a "living treasure."
Top 10 lists
The film appeared on many critics' top 10 lists of the best films of 2007.
- 1st - Stephen Farber, The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterFormerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
- 1st - Steven ReaSteven ReaSteven Rea is an American journalist, film critic, poet, and writer. Although at the beginning of his career he was based in Los Angeles, California, he now resides on the East Coast. Since 1982 he has written for the Philadelphia Inquirer...
, The Philadelphia InquirerThe Philadelphia InquirerThe Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the... - 2nd - Marc Mohan, The OregonianThe OregonianThe Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
- 2nd - Owen GleibermanOwen GleibermanOwen Gleiberman is an American film critic for Entertainment Weekly, a position he has held since the magazine's launch in 1990. From 1981–89, he worked at the Boston Phoenix....
, Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture... - 3rd - Manohla DargisManohla DargisManohla Dargis is a chief film critic for The New York Times, along with A.O. Scott. She was formerly a chief film critic for the Los Angeles Times, the film editor at the LA Weekly, and a film critic at The Village Voice. She has written for a variety of publications, including Film Comment and...
, The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization... - 3rd - Richard SchickelRichard SchickelRichard Warren Schickel is an American author, journalist, and documentary filmmaker. He is a film critic for Time magazine, having also written for Life magazine and the Los Angeles Times Book Review....
, TIME magazineTime (magazine)Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong... - 3rd - Roger EbertRoger EbertRoger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
, Chicago Sun-TimesChicago Sun-TimesThe Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city... - 4th - Rene Rodriguez, The Miami HeraldThe Miami HeraldThe Miami Herald is a daily newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company headquartered on Biscayne Bay in the Omni district of Downtown Miami, Florida, United States...
- 5th - Marc Savlov, The Austin Chronicle
- 6th - Carina Chocano, Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
- 6th - Frank Scheck, The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterFormerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
- 6th - Keith Phipps, The A.V. ClubThe A.V. ClubThe A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
- 7th - Scott Foundas, LA WeeklyLA WeeklyLA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized "alternative weekly" in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...
(tied with Eastern Promises) - 8th - Jack MathewsJack MathewsJack Nicholsen Mathews is a Canadian musician and actor. He was a member of the alternative rock group Leslie Spit Treeo in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
, New York Daily NewsNew York Daily NewsThe Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011.... - 8th - Lou LumenickLou LumenickLouis J. "Lou" Lumenick is an American film critic. He is the chief film critic and a blogger for the New York Post and has reviewed films there since 1999.-Life and career:Lumenick was born and raised in Astoria, Queens...
, New York PostNew York PostThe New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions... - 8th - Peter TraversPeter TraversPeter Travers is an American film critic, who has written for, in turn, People and Rolling Stone. Travers also hosts a celebrity interview show called Popcorn on ABC News Now and ABCNews.com.-Career:...
, Rolling StoneRolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J... - 8th - Ty BurrTy BurrTy Burr has been a film critic for the Boston Globe since 2002 where he reviews films alongside Wesley Morris.Born in 1957, he studied film at Dartmouth College and New York University and has written three books: The Hundred Greatest Movies of All Time, The Hundred Greatest Stars of All Time and...
, The Boston GlobeThe Boston GlobeThe Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993... - 9th - Mick LaSalleMick LaSalleMick LaSalle is an American Mick LaSalle is an [[United States|American]] Mick LaSalle is an [[United States|American]] [[film reviewer] and the author of two books on pre-[[Motion Picture Production Code|Hays Code]] Hollywood...
, San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chroniclethumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,... - 9th - Peter Vonder Haar, Film ThreatFilm ThreatFilm Threat is a former print magazine and, now, webzine which focuses primarily on independent film, although it also reviews DVDs of mainstream films and Hollywood movies in theaters. It first appeared as a photocopied zine in 1985, created by Wayne State University students Chris Gore and André...
- 10th - Philip MartinPhilip MartinPhilip Martin may refer to:* Philip Martin , Canadian professional basketball player currently with Juvecaserta Basket* Philip Martin , television and film director...
, Arkansas Democrat-GazetteArkansas Democrat-GazetteThe Arkansas Democrat-Gazette is the newspaper of record in the U.S. state of Arkansas, printed in Little Rock with a northwest edition published in Lowell... - 10th - Stephen HunterStephen HunterStephen Hunter is an American novelist, essayist, and Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic.-Life and career:Stephen Hunter was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and grew up in Evanston, Illinois. His father was Charles Francis Hunter, a Northwestern University speech professor who was killed in 1975....
, The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
Box office
The film opened in limited releaseLimited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
in the United States on October 26, 2007 in two theaters, grossing $73,837 in its opening weekend. In total, the film grossed over $25 million worldwide.
Accolades
- American Film Institute Awards 2007American Film Institute Awards 2007The American Film Institute Awards 2007 honored the ten most influential American motion pictures and television shows of 2007, chosen by juries assembled by the American Film Institute...
- Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best CastBoston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cast-2000s:*2003: Mystic River*2004: Sideways*2005: Syriana*2006: United 93*2007: Before the Devil Knows You're Dead*2008: Tropic Thunder*2009: Precious / Star Trek-2010s:*2010: The Fighter...
- Gotham Awards – Best Ensemble Cast
- Satellite Award for Best Cast – Motion Picture
External links
- Interview with director Sidney Lumet, actors Philip Seymour Hoffman & Ethan Hawke on The Charlie Rose ShowCharlie Rose (talk show)Charlie Rose is an American television interview show, with Charlie Rose as executive producer, executive editor, and host. The show is syndicated...