[4] The film was written by Kelly Masterson, and stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei, and Albert Finney.
Facing an upcoming audit that will reveal his embezzlement, finance executive Andy Hanson decides to escape to Brazil.
To raise the necessary funds, he enlists the aid of his brother, Hank, a divorced father who needs money to pay child support and tuition.
They assume that only Doris, an elderly employee, will be there, necessitating only a toy gun, and ensuring that insurance will make it a victimless crime.
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.
Andy, preoccupied with his problems, hardly reacts when Gina announces she is leaving him or even when she reveals her affair with Hank, and instead he gives her money for her departure when she asks for some.
Andy decides to resolve Hank's blackmail situation by robbing a heroin dealer whom he frequents and then escaping abroad.
Andy breaks down and apologizes to his estranged father, but inadvertently blurts out key information about the robbery: that his mom was not supposed to be there.
After experimenting with the format of high definition video on the television series 100 Centre Street, Lumet made the decision to shoot Before the Devil Knows You're Dead on the Panavision Genesis digital camera system.
[6] The primary robbery scene was filmed at the Bay Terrace Shopping Center in Bayside, Queens, New York.
[7] Sidney Lumet knew Philip Seymour Hoffman was going to have more difficulty with the opening sex scene than Marisa Tomei.
The website’s critical consensus reads: "A tense and effective thriller, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead marks a triumphant return to form for director Sidney Lumet.
"[12] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 86 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
"[14] Roger Ebert gave the film four stars out of four, calling it "superb" and its director, Sidney Lumet, a "living treasure.