Lumet delves into melodramatic film noir with a tale of two sons who set out to rob their parents’ mom and pop jewelry store, with unintended consequences flowing out of the plan. The brothers are played by Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Albert Finney and Rosemary Harris are cast the parents.

Working with a screenplay by Kelly Masterson, Lumet builds tension as the drama escalates into a New York version of Greek tragedy. He knows how to meld background and events for maximum effect, and the moral decay depicted provides a jolting comment on how pressures and greed can spiral into the unthinkable. The acting is commanding and the scenes well shot, with Lumet’s instinct for when to use close-ups and tighten the contact with the audience revealed as all-wise.

The narrative gains impact by the technique of flipping back and forth in time. The robbery itself serves as the springboard for returning to time frames highlighting the involvement of the different characters. The shots are also shown from angles different from the previous perspectives. It’s very clever construction, but also crystal clear.

The tension builds from the outset, as the audience is drawn into the personal schemes and also the portraits of the brothers, as well as the at-sea character of Gina, revealingly played by Marisa Tomei. Gina is in an unsatisfactory marriage to one brother, but also sleeping with the other. The film opens with a candid, tantalizing sex scene that will grab anyone’s attention. It is momentary heaven, thus harking to the film’s title that stems from an Irish toast, “May you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows you’re dead.”

Hoffman has one of his strongest and best performed roles as Andy, the older, domineering brother, and Ethan Hawke is terrific as Hank, the weaker of the two. Finney is superb as their father, and Rosemary Harris likewise is effective as their mother. For all of the melodrama and action, some of it violent, the film succeeds in no small measure because it delves into the character revelations involving father-and son tensions, marital malaise, brother issues, questions of morality, choices made, and events that go wrong by chance circumstances.

The supporting casting is also at a high level, once again reflecting Lumet’s savvy working with actors, including the talented Brian F. O’Byrne, Amy Ryan and others.

Also interesting is that the veteran director is keeping up with and even ahead of the times. Some years ago Lumet told me in an interview that he envisioned a future when film would become obsolete and the movies would be made with new developing technology. “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” is a step toward fulfilling that prediction. It was all shot with high definition, and the technique helps provide a fresh impression of immediacy. At a recent cocktail party in connection with the film, Lumet remarked to me that there would be no film used at all in about five years.