Story Overview

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead is a dark, psychologically intense crime drama centered on the Hanson family, a seemingly ordinary middle-class household living in the suburbs. The family patriarch Charles (Albert Finney) spends his mornings driving his wife Nanette (Rosemary Harris) to the jewelry store they have owned and operated for years, unaware that his family is approaching a devastating breaking point.

Charles and Nanette have three adult children: Andy (Philip Seymour Hoffman), the eldest, a financially successful but morally compromised corporate executive; Hank (Ethan Hawke), the younger brother, divorced, struggling, and burdened by financial obligations; and their sister Katherine (Arija Bareikis). All three grew up around the family jewelry store and know its routines intimately.

Desperate for money and driven by greed and frustration, Andy convinces Hank to rob their parents’ jewelry store, believing the insurance payout will cover the loss and no one will be harmed. Meeting at their usual spot, Mooney’s Pub, the brothers rationalize the crime as a victimless solution to their problems.

When the robbery goes disastrously wrong, panic and violence take over, leading to the shocking death of their mother. As the truth slowly unravels, Charles seeks justice for the crime, unaware that the perpetrators are his own sons. Meanwhile, Andy and Hank are consumed by guilt, paranoia, and betrayal, spiraling toward an inevitable and tragic confrontation.

Structured through fractured timelines and shifting perspectives, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead delivers a relentless examination of greed, moral decay, and the irreversible consequences of betrayal within a family.