The brotherly love enjoyed by Andy Hanson (Seymour Hoffman) and Hank (Hawke) unfortunately doesn't extend to their parents.

No. Their bank accounts are running on empty thanks to a corrosive drug habit (Andy) and a combination of cheap spirits and alimony (Hank), the boys decide it's time to raid the family coffers.

Or, to put it more accurately, raid the Hanson jewellery store in a "victimless" crime (the shop is heavily insured) and walk away with $600,000. Job done.

Of course, it doesn't play out this way. For a start, the boys' mum Nanette (Rosemary Harris) is behind the counter (when she's not supposed to be) and Hank's accomplice Bobby is a braindead hoodlum who goes tooled up (when he's been told not to).

The upshot is that Bobby is blasted to death, mom finds herself in a coma...while the brothers have a whole lotta cleaning up to do.

Even at the grand old age of 83 director Sidney Lumet can still run rings around his younger rivals with a thriller sublimely structured and beautifully played.

Hoffman exudes just the right degree of desperation as a corporate high-flier forced to raid the company till as his recreational drugs bill climbs ever higher.

Hawke bleakly captures the frustration of an estranged father driven to drink by his inability to provide for his young daughter.

There are a couple of caveats: what sort of upbringing did these two endure to launch into such a morally iffy scheme from a standing start? There's also no real need for Marisa Tomei's adulterous wife although gentlemen of a certain age will appreciate her assets.

But no matter. As the Brothers Grim attempt to extricate themselves from an evermore desperate situation, Lumet tonally works his way through the Dulux chart from black to, well, you don't want to go there.

It's a slow, all-too painful descent into a hell-of-their-own-making for Andy'n'Hank with even dad (Finney) brutally displaying that even paternal care has its limits.

A master on top of his game.

Tim Evans