Before the Devil's central plot revolves around a jewelry robbery gone wrong, which we see very early on, and then over the course of the movie, we jump backwards and forwards in time to see some of the same events that lead up to the robbery and follow it from three distinct points of view. This sort of plot device has certainly been done before--the excellent 21 Grams immediately comes to mind--but never quite this effectively on a story level as it explores the relationships of two brothers, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke, and their father and owner of the jewelry store we see being robbed, played by Albert Finney.

After we watch this robbery go awry, the movie cuts back a few days, and we begin to learn more about these characters and their involvement in the robbery. After setting up the backstory, we start to see how the events affect them, as first-time screenwriter Kelly Masterson weaves an intricate story from what at first, might have seemed like a mundane event.

Hoffman's character is very much in the same mold as his underrated turn in "Owning Mahoney" as he plays a respected real estate exec trying to keep his trophy wife (Marisa Tomei) happy, though we quickly learn that she's having an affair with his brother, which makes what happens later in the movie even more climactic. Ethan Hawke gives one of his better recent performances as the younger brother who constantly finds himself turning to his older brother for help, and Albert Finney gives a powerful performance as an important perspective to the story, especially as we watch the relationship between him and Hoffman evolve into something one could never possibly expect. Amidst all of this, Hoffman has to deal with an IRS audit and Hawke tries to deal with a nagging ex-wife who keeps demanding his late child support payments, two things which play a large part in what happens.

Lumet avoids a lot of flashy moving camerawork, essentially finding the best shot and sticking with it for the entire scene, and this choice creates a pervasive sense of dread as more pieces of the puzzle are revealed and more factors enter the mix, including Michael Shannon as a dangerous (and often amusing) monkey wrench into the works. The building tension and suspense is palpable as things start to unravel and the story escalates to a surprising and shocking conclusion.

I really can't heap enough praise on Lumet's return to greatness with this crime drama on a par with classics like the Coens' "Fargo" or Sam Raimi's "A Simple Plan," with intense drama in the vein of Todd Field's "In the Bedroom" as each character's motivations and intentions are laid bare by their actions creating a riveting, unforgettable film.

Rating: 9/10

Public Screenings: Thurs. Sept. 13 at 9pm (Elgin/Visa) and Sat. Sept. 15 at 2:45pm (Ryerson)

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead opens in New York and L.A. on October 26.

Michael Clayton is similarly driven by a trio of performances, but it's clearly Clooney's movie all the way as the title character whose specialized profession is similar to that of Harvey Keitel in Pulp Fiction, cleaning up the messes that can cost the New York law firm that employs him billions of dollars or merely make their clients look bad. We meet Clayton as he's embroiled in an illegal Chinatown poker tournament before he's called to do his job, leading to an unexpected event that seems to come from out of left field. We then go back four days (much like in Lumet's film) and we watch the events that lead up to that moment.

Clayton is a man who could have anything he wants in life, having carved a niche to become the best at his job, but he's also burnt-out and clearly a man frustrated with what this job sometimes entails. On top of that, Clayton is plagued by debt collectors having taken the massive debt problems faced by his brother upon himself, forcing him to close and sell off the restaurant he owns to try to get out from under it. Even though we don't get the impression that Clayton's job has allowed him to ever get married or have kids, it's clear that he still feels a huge responsibility towards his family despite having bigger problems at work.

A chemical company represented by the firm has been embroiled in a multi-billion class action law suit involving fertilizer that has caused health problems to a group of farmers and their families, and this company's chief counsel Karen Crowder, played by Tilda Swinton, is in charge of cleaning up the mess when a memo is leaked that would indict her company for knowing that their product might cause those problems.

The third part of this equation is Tom Wilkinson as Arthur Eden, the firm's top litigator who has been dealing with this class action case for years, something that has clearly driven him insane. The film opens with a long rambling monologue by Wilkinson, which doesn't make much sense until we hear it repeated later, this time as Michael Clayton has been brought in to quell the situation when Eden has taken off all his clothes in the middle of depositions and seems to be sabotaging the case. This is another terrific performance by Wilkinson even if there are aspects of his character that aren't particularly credible and are somewhat off-putting like his relationship with Clayton's son and a creepy obsession with a young female plaintiff. We're never really sure what they mean or if there's something darker and more disturbing than just a man having a nervous breakdown.

The only other key player is Sydney Pollack, perfectly cast as Marty Bach, the partner in the firm who realizes that Clayton's having trouble keeping it together as he gets more and more caught up in the information that Eden has uncovered.

Overall, this is a brilliant debut as a director by Gilroy, a complex yet subdued thriller that takes its time to grab you but once it does, keeps you riveted to the screen until the very end. For the most part, it's a slow and deliberate film that takes some time before you're comfortable with that pace, especially since it's not immediately clear who everyone is and what is going on. This way that Gilroy keeps the viewer off-balance is what makes it so effective, and it'll be shocking to some to see what some corporations might do in order to cover their butt. In this case, it's the cause and effect of Tilda Swinton's decisions that will leave many people wondering if big corporations can be trusted at all.

By the time we're back at the moment where the movie cuts back to the past, everyone should be fully on board and behind Clayton, and really, that's a testament to the way Clooney is able to sell this character and the story with his outstanding performance which even surpasses the one he gave in Syriana. No one should be too surprised if it brings him back to the Oscars once again.

Rating: 8.5/10

Public Screenings: Fri. Sept 7 at 9:30pm (Roy Thomson) and Sat. Sept. 8 at 12pm (Ryerson)

Michael Clayton opens in New York, L.A. and Toronto on October 5.