Sidney Lumet’s masterful tale of deceit, robbery and family dysfunction is one of the veteran filmmaker’s strongest efforts ever, a disturbing but emotionally packed tale of the American dream gone way, way wrong. The story finds brothers Andrew (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and Hank (Ethan Hawke) plotting to rob a jewelry store in Westchester, N.Y., owned by their parents (Albert Finney, Rosemary Harris). The heist goes horribly awry, leading to stunning revelations and eventually tragedy. Lumet’s signature no-nonsense style is trumped by a compelling story that skips forward and backward in time and is told from different perspectives. The filmmaker elicits dynamic performances from all involved, especially Hoffman and a frequently naked, unabashedly sexual Marisa Tomei as the disgruntled woman in both men’s lives.

Shelf Talk: Superb reviews and several spots on Top 10 lists failed to ignite the box office that this top-notch drama deserved. A better fate awaits it on DVD, where word-of-mouth, recommendations and the presence of Oscar-winner Hoffman (Capote) and the reliable Hawke should push the title into hit status. Though the film was nominated for a slew of minor awards, it didn’t drum up any Oscar or Golden Globe nods, which is both surprising and sad.