The Devil You Know

source: The Devil You Know

The storyline isn't much of a mystery, and yeah the old "guy gets out of jail and tries to do good" archetype is played out. But this movie draws out emotion and feeling, partially because the acting is pretty decent for a B movie and partially because the writing isn't half bad either. It's a solid 6 and worth a watch.

Premise: The Devil You Know, a crime drama revolving around a black family. Marcus, who has just come out of prison is trying to make his life again with a new job and his family's support. One day, when he hears about a recent crime in news, that could lead to his brother, he chooses to protect him. What he does and how that affects him and his family is the rest of the film's story. Cinematic Analysis: Calling it a crime thriller might be misleading as there aren't any thrills involved here. The story is mostly focused on family dynamics, the ups and downs, and their daily lives. Heavy on conversations, the film tries to explore the impact a crime can have on people around us, especially our loved ones. It tries to bring us the inner conflicts and emotions they feel when something like this happens. The film is around 2 hrs long and the screenplay is extremely elongated. Instead of spending so much time on family get-togethers, if the makers would have invested some time to explain the backstory of our lead character, it surely would have helped a lot to connect with him on an emotional level and for a better understanding of the choices he made. The film focuses on things that are less important and never touches on the impactful aspects. The ending is surprising, never expected it to end this way. Performances are good but character development did have some scope to improve. On technical levels like cinematography, score etc., the film does a fine job. Conclusion: In finality, The Devil You Know had a potential and impactful plot but the screenplay couldn't bring out our emotions or make us care for any of the characters. It lacks a tighter script and proper execution. Rating: 5/10 Follow Me On Instagram: M_Movie_Reviews.

I have never turned a movie off until now. Just a bunch of mumbling, whispering, and we can barely hear what they are saying. We keep turning the volume up and then they whisper more. It was super slow and the acting was generic. Very low budget. Omar Epps shouldn't even list this on his IMBD. I wouldn't claim this one at all. Horrible acting as a whole. *These reviews higher than a 5 must be those in the movie or related to those in the movie.

All to familiar storyline... love all the actors and some of the best male actors today. Each actor played there role to the fullest. It should have been called brothers my only complaint is that one male actor had no tears when he attempted to be crying. But never thought the dinner table scene would go that way. Loved it.

This movie is filled with surprises. Why the ratings are so low through IMDB? I have no clue! But if you want to watch a story where a close knit families love and loyalty is tested- it's worth watching!

I don't understand the extremely low ratings on this movie. I watched it guardedly since the IMDB was lower than I expected it to be, but I also understand that movies that having an online streaming debut don't get anywhere close to the high ratings they deserve until a lot later after they've come out. So watch the movie like I did, and I think you'll enjoy it. It might not be a full ten star movie in reality, but it is good and interesting and the folks giving it a one to five star rating have lost their marbles. There are ups and downs, twists and turns, and I would watch this movie again.

Didnt expect much based on reviews, however it is actually a great movie and acting. The story line is catching, even though there is a ton of movies just like this, however it catches ones attention. Definitely a movie worth watching.

What I liked: Realistic ending. Not all things have a happy ending and justice doesn't always catch up with everyone. Maybe because it's based on a real events, but I like it that it didn't have that hollyweird vibe. What I didn't like: looked like a Tyler Perry soap opera ... some scenes were alittle cheesy Overall: Good movie, with a couple of surprises. Realistic.

Best movie that makes you think about your moral compass. Good family movie discussions as well. What would you do? This movie makes you love the family bond as well. It's a shame we don't have more movies like this.