Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

"Despite its plain face, the modest Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead still manages to be tense, brutal and shocking. The pervasive depressing tone combines with the slow pace to create a fairly sombre night at the cinema, but it’s a quality night at the cinema nonetheless."

"The wrenching tale has something for anyone who likes their melodrama spiked with palpable tension and genuine suspense."

"A dynamite film that ranks with the year's best."

"Cleverly conceived thriller overplays its tricksy narrative but the acting is great."

"Pungently atmospheric, brilliantly textured and featuring superb performances from every performer in parts big and small."

"Bleak, brutal and quite possibly brilliant, this is a triumphant return to form for Lumet and further proof that Hoffman is on an incredible winning streak."

"Lumet's slick, non-linear yet efficient storytelling draws you into the family drama masquerading as a crime thriller before you even realise you care what happens to these awful people. The stellar cast lifts this intense drama to fever pitch even as you take in the oddly incongruent tragicomic edge."

"Judged against Lumet's masterpieces this is middling and he engages in some tricksy editing and a overly complicated and finally irritating flashback/forward structure. But the great strength of Before The Devil... is in its finely calibrated pair of central performances."