Five Minutes of Heaven (2009)

What a waste of my time!!!

Excellent, a Must See

I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

In Northern Ireland, Alistair Little (Liam Neeson) joined the Ulster Volunteer Force at 15. In 1975, he killed Catholic Jimmy Griffin in his home in front of his younger brother Joe. Thirty three years later, Alistair has been released from prison and a TV show is bringing him together with an adult Joe (James Nesbitt) for the show. Joe is racked with guilt and anger. Vika (Anamaria Marinca) is a TV production assistant.It's an intriguing way of tackling this troubled era. Nesbitt brings out his energetic acting. Neeson is stoically powerful. This culminates into five minutes of power. It's a bit hit-and-miss for the most part. It doesn't always flow but it has a few great scenes.

More than thirty years after he saw his older brother gunned down by a teenage "member" of the UVF, Joe Griffin's wounds are still fresh and the memories of that night still vivid. For this reason he sincerely doubts his decision to do a one-to-one interview with the killer. For Alistair Little it is a more familiar process as he has done much public soul-searching since his "rehabilitation".I came to this film attracted by it being set in Ulster, place of my birth and first 18 years alive. The big names in the cast and directing duties also had a part to play and I envisaged this being a raw two-handed between the two men with plenty for both of them to get their teeth into as they play off each other – not sure why I thought this, but I did. The reality is that the two men barely share a scene, and when they do it is brief and ironically not as good as when they are apart doing their own thing with their own character. In the majority of the film we come to understand (well, in a simple way at least) the two men and who they have become as a result of that one shared event in their lives. How things appear are not necessarily the way they are and where the power lies is equally blurred. This continues as we learn about the two men.Many viewers may be disappointed about how the film plays out, because there isn't really a handful of "big" actorly scenes but rather a slow and steady development which speaks more of a numbing and long-lasting pain on all sides – which is convincing and befitting the situation in the region. It doesn't offer easy answers and, although some of it can be interpreted as pat, it mostly manages to avoid being obvious or clichéd in what it is saying. Both Nesbit and Neeson are on good form and, in hindsight, the lack of showboating material is only a good thing. They play it subtle and they play it very well. Nesbit impressed me the most because if I'm honest I expected less from him but he does very well. Neeson is solid and controlled but reveals much with the delivery of key scenes. Beyond the two of them there may as well be anyone since they are the focus, but supporting turns from Marinca, Orr and a few others don't distract.Overall Five Minutes of Heaven is not an earth shattering film nor is it a firey one. Instead it is a controlled study of the impacts beyond the bullets on two specific characters. While it tends towards cliché the manner of delivery from all involved mean it doesn't ever become pat or obvious but rather remains natural and convincing. Well worth seeing.

I really had a hard time knowing what to make of this film. The opening is striking as a group of young Irish men plot the killing of another because you have to do something in the hornet's nest they are living in. Not only do they accomplish the killing, they destroy the life of a boy, the victim's brother, who witnessed everything. The most unfortunate thing is that this boy is blamed by his mother for not doing something to stop things. It then moves many years in the future. The two men are to meet on a kind of talk show. Incredible tension builds as the killer (played by Liam Neeson) gives some testimony and awaits the man whose life he pretty much destroyed. The outstanding thing about this film that there are no sides. As Neeson's character said, at the time he was proud. He went to bars and was hailed as a hero. He also knows that there is no forgiveness, no sorrow that can change anything. We await their confrontation. I will not comment on the events that follow. Suffice it to say that they are extremely intense and, I thought, satisfying.

I'm writing this review to state that having counseled people who've committed murder, I think this film rings true. Both characters are portrayed with psychological accuracy. I also thought the film was quite suspenseful, since we know at some point there is going to be a confrontation, but we don't know when or exactly how. This type of real-life suspense is much more nerve-wracking than a contrived chase scene with fake explosions in a Hollywoood movie.I'm not an expert on Irish history so I can't critique the film from that angle. I'm not sure whether it matters as this type of story could take place in the setting of any of many conflicts.