MovieChat Forums > Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007) Discussion > Didn't need to be presented out of chron...

Didn't need to be presented out of chronological order (spoilers)

posted 12 years ago by Degree7
17 replies | jump to latest

The two corrupt sons inadvertently kill their own mother in a botched scheme, and so their lives go down the toilet until the one son runs away with what little humanity he has left, and the father is forced to kill the older son.

A greek tragedy.

It's a very interesting story, but on the whole, I did not see the need to show it out of chronological order, I just found it distracting. I also did not like Lumet's decision to film in HD video, and his comment that "shooting on film is a pain in the ass" and "that it will become obsolete" very much disturbs me.

On the whole, I gave it a 7/10

I said I never had much use for one....never said I didn't know how to use it.

[–] Tales-from-the-Goondocks 12 years ago

God, I sooo agree with you! I hate this movie, because it had the potential to be really good, but the editing and storytelling killed it for me. This story didn't have the need to be told in this way. Also, why the hell did they feel the need to give us that awful editing whenever the story rewound?

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Ithilfaen 11 years ago

it needed the gimmick to get some hype I guess and it worked. It's getting to be a trend, isn't it? The out of order thing?

For every lie I unlearn I learn something new - Ani Difranco

[–] joanna164 11 years ago

i didnt like the out of order either or those weird close up shots

[–] Mandy_Whitsands 11 years ago

same here.
what's the problem with HD ?

[–] scottieweiss 11 years ago

I really liked the non-sequential idea - it emphasized how the characters were likely to be replaying the day they took on the heist in their minds. Also the isolation of the characters and the distance between them was well demonstrated ... it really clarified in a practical way how two people can live through the same event yet have a completely different recollection of it.

[–] G_Runciter 10 years ago

Exactly.
It was unnecessary to mix up the timeline, it made the whole movie feel disjointed

[–] noveltylibrary65 (200) 4 years ago

I think that was the point, to feel disjointed like the characters did.

[–] Robbmonster 10 years ago

Please add *spoilers* to your heading.

I thought you were talking about the SHOOTING of the film and I was going to point out that 99% of movies are not shot in chronological order. It's the only smart thing to do.

I think what you mean is the film didn't need to be PRESENTED out of chronological order.

Never defend crap with "It's just a movie"
http://www.youtube.com/user/BigGreenProds

[–] Degree7 10 years ago

Thanks for the clarification, I'll edit that in.

Limit of the Willing Suspension of Disbelief: directly proportional to its awesomeness.

[–] Robbmonster 10 years ago

To comment on the actual point you were making.

I didn't mind the way the structure played out. In the final scenes it all came together as it was meant to.

However, it was a good decision to use the 'Hank: 3 days before the robbery' supers because without them I, for one, would have been completely lost. And it think this is a rather bad sign.

Also, I wasn't put off by the film having been shot on video. It looked close enough to film for my eyes, just a different kind of film. From the beginning of time different film stock have yielded different cinematic results, and I see HD video as simply being and alternative film stock that gives a different look to others. Is that bad? I don't know. But sadly, video IS the way of the future, and we can either adjust to it and run with it, or choose to wallow in misery at the loss of yet another obsolete, analogue technology.

Part of the reason people resent video so much harks back to how much information is available about the making of films these days. If people think a film 'doesn't look quite right', they just mosie on over to Wikipedia, see that it was shot on video, exactly what camera was used and any other information they crave. Everyone's an expert now. Since the advent of DVD there is not mystery to filmmaking anymore. It's a shame in a way.

And just to clarify, I'll take film over video any day of the week. I just don't think the gulf in look or quality is as huge as people make it out to be. HD video isn't 'worse', it's just 'different'.

Never defend crap with "It's just a movie"
http://www.youtube.com/user/BigGreenProds

[–] Degree7 10 years ago

HD video isn't 'worse', it's just 'different'.

I have seen plenty of digital movies that looked great to me, when it is used correctly, like in Michael Mann's Collateral or Fincher's Zodiac. And it makes guerilla filmmaking easier.

But to me, there's just something off about digital when it isn't needed. Especially in this movie. Some scenes looked great, and others just looked like total crap, like the scenes of Ethan Hawke in the car before the robbery. Something about how it looks in broad daylight, it just looks cheap and almost lazy.

I don't think analogue will ever be completely obsolete either. People still listen to vinyl records just for that aura it gives off. I think film is the same.

Limit of the Willing Suspension of Disbelief: directly proportional to its awesomeness.

[–] Don_Cheech 9 years ago

That scene you mention.. with Ethan Hawke in the car during the robbery.. I agree, it did look pretty bad. For me though, that was the only scene that really stood out. Who knows, maybe the director was aiming for that. I mean, the disguise was obviously terrible, and the situation itself was crummy. Maybe it was going for realism..?

[–] Don_Cheech 9 years ago

and its only fair to point out the great scenes that were shot in digital..

ex/

- Andy smashing the buzzer glass outside Hank's place.
- Pouring the rocks over the table
- The whole ending

[–] PopperTheKungFu-Dragon 9 years ago

It didn't really bother me. Maybe it wasn't needed, but it didn't take away from the story IMO.

Very good. But brick not hit back!