Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, Marisa Tomei, Rosemary Harris

As I see it, there are two types of people in this world – those that wear a helmet when riding a bike, and those that don’t. Since the lead characters in “” are seemingly just asking for trouble, I’m betting they skipped the head protection.

After the rather so-so Vin Diesel-starring courtroom comedy, ''Find Me Guilty'', veteran filmmaker Sidney Lumet, director of such meaty classics as “Serpico” and “Prince of the City”, makes a welcome return to form – and the backstreets of New York - with this engrossing, smartly-written and proficiently-directed crime drama about two brothers who plot to rob their own parent’s jewellery store.

Storytelling at its smartest and most engaging, the fleshy pic spills out in Rashamon-style as we hear from the central figures affected by the abovesaid robbery – including the two in-debt brothers (Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman) and the doting husband and father (Albert Finney) whose coming apart at the seams – which was always intended to be a “victimless” straight-forward smash n’grab, but goes awry.

If you’ve seen the trailer, you’ll have been exposed to one of the film’s shocking twists. If you haven’t googled the preview though don’t – it’ll be a much more surprising and entertaining experience coming into this one fresh. It’s one of those rare occasions where you don’t see what’s coming next.

Kelly Masterson’s script has it all – double-crossing, murder, lies – embossed in a devilish morality tale. Accompanied by Lumet’s superb direction and the bravura performances of its cast (Hawke’s much more at home in meaty drama like this than he is in commercial junk like “Taking Lives”), it’s a wholly-satisfying package.

Nice to see the return of the super-solid drama.

Rating :
Reviewer : Clint Morris