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| BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD (2007) |
Few American film makers can match the quality and breadth of morally complex dramas that make up the long list of motion pictures Sidney Lumet helmed for the big screen.
By the time Lumet died April 9 at age 86, he left a legacy that included such classics as the courtroom drama “12 Angry Men,” the doomsday thriller “Fail Safe” and crime dramas “Serpico” and “Prince of the City.”
His films are funny, edgy and deep. His best are about people so committed to and, in many instances, obsessed with a specific issue or cause that they are unaware or simply don’t care how their decisions and actions affect others.
It’s especially bittersweet that Lumet’s last film, “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” in 2007, hit the screen 50 years after his first, “12 Angry Men.” Not surprisingly, “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” ranks among his best.
