Ehrbare Ganoven (1989)

Ehrbare Ganoven: Directed by Sidney Lumet. With Sean Connery, Dustin Hoffman, Matthew Broderick, Rosanna DeSoto. An ex professor offers Adam $1,000,000 to “get” some plasma from a high tech company’s lab. Adam asks his criminal grandpa for help. Can they convince Adam’s now honest dad to join?

“When I see this film reviewed, over and over, as a comedy, I donu0026#39;t know whether to laugh or to cry. This is one of the most brutally cynical, agonizingly tragic films Iu0026#39;ve ever seen – the story of a family caught up in the romance of crime, trying to help at least the youngest generation escape its inevitable fate.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ePerhaps it helps to know Sidney Lumetu0026#39;s other work, especially his previous bitterly brilliant collaborations with Sean Connery: The Hill, and The Offense. Family Business is a similarly scathing attack on preconceptions. Lumet takes what looks like a tame little u0026#39;heist comedyu0026#39; scenario and shows just how poisonously evil it really is. He gives us the charming scoundrel (Connery), and shows how destructive his devil-may-care attitude can be.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOne might as well criticize Othello or Macbeth for having no laughs. This film is, in fact, Shakespearian in its tragic dimensions. Connery starts out with the classic Tragic Flaw, and must pay for it in the end. (There is a heroic dimension in his ultimate realization, at least.)u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI can easily understand that many people wonu0026#39;t enjoy this film. Itu0026#39;s a nasty, venomous, painful piece of work. But itu0026#39;s also quite brilliant. If you want easy answers, by all means, rent Oceanu0026#39;s Eleven. But if youu0026#39;re up for a challenge, donu0026#39;t overlook Family Business.”