This misbegotten family drama, starring a squandered all-Black ensemble, begins with stolen baseball cards.
Recently released from prison, Marcus Cowans (Omar Epps), a recovering alcoholic, searches for a fresh start. He comes from a steadfast family, of four flatly sketched siblings, who worry about his well-being. But it’s his brother Drew (William Catlett), unemployed, alone, and hanging around a bad crowd, who’s concerning.
Written and directed by Charles Murray, “The Devil You Know” is a grim crime and family drama that struggles to find a consistent tone. It begins with a jarring one-shot of three thieves infiltrating a quaint suburban home. Two occupants are murdered, another lies in a coma. At Drew’s apartment, Marcus discovers a book of valuable baseball cards, reportedly stolen from the vandalized home. Could his stoic brother be capable of the heinous violence that occurred at the house?
Aimless and incoherent, the film maps the “no good deed” trope to Marcus. He tips off the police about Drew’s shady associates. The move causes Marcus’s devoted father (Glynn Turman) to suffer a heart attack and his loving girlfriend (Erica Tazel) to leave him. It also leads Joe (Michael Ealy), a tedious detective, to knock on his door.
The soft-spoken Epps is frustratingly miscast. The editing by Geofrey Hildrew and Scott Pellet limps lifelessly along, and the direction lacks the necessary pulse for a story line with more twists than a low-budget soap opera. The film teases a confrontation between Marcus and Joe, climaxing with a meeting recalling Michael Mann’s “Heat.” But the oblique framing, undercutting the veteran actors, only reminds viewers of what “The Devil You Know” isn’t.
The Devil You Know
Rated R for violence and intense language. Running time: 1 hour 56 minutes. In theaters.
Source: Movies - nytimes.com
