A Little Trip to Heaven (2005)

Really Surprised!

Awesome Movie

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

This "independent" movie is set somewhere in the USA, but it is filmed in Iceland. All the crew and the director appear to be Scandinavian. It is about a man who seems to live his life running scams to get insurance money, but this time he runs up against one of the better insurance investigators who tries to minimize payouts.The lead role is played by Forest Whitaker as Abe Holt, who seems very good as the insurance man. When a man insured for $1Million is found dead and burned in a tragic car wreck, Holt is dispatched to see if there is fraud involved. Basically, he tries to find the victim alive. The rat is Jeremy Renner as "Fred", who apparently is married to the sister of the deceased man, and she is the sole beneficiary of the $1Million. But not all is as it seems to be. Julia Stiles is Isold, the sister, and the young son is Thor. Interesting movie, something different from Hollywood blockbusters.SPOILERS: The man Fred who appears to be Isold's husband is really the man supposed to be dead, Isold's crooked brother, who found a drifter to kill in the wreck. Holt figures this out, a key piece of information is finding the real "Fred" was already dead. Holt arranges the policy so that Isold will get $1Million, but when he tried to get the brother to justice, both end up dying in yet another car crash.

This Icelandic film has a feel of Fargo, but comes up short despite the stars attached.The scenery is bleak and depressing, just like Iceland in the winter. It adds the right atmosphere to a murder/insurance scam. There are some obvious plot holes, and it seems to drag a bit at times, but the story is fascinating and the characters are favorites.Forest Whitaker (The Great Debaters, The Last King of Scotland) is a claims adjuster and tries to wring the last dime out of his clients, just as his boss (Peter Coyote) does. They are ruthless about the fine print in a contract.Whitaker is investigating a crash where the victim burned to a crisp. He is like Columbo the way he asks questions and keeps hammering until he gets at the truth. Julia Stiles (The Bourne trilogy, The Omen) is supposedly living with her husband and son, and it is her brother that is supposedly dead in the crash (we all know different, but she doesn't), but Whitaker ferrets out the truth.Of course, he falls for her - who wouldn't - and this leads to a strange Coen Brothers ending.It was a nice ride getting there.

This was an intriguing, although not satisfying,, movie and one I still felt was worth my few bucks I paid to rent it.It was filmed in Iceland - one of the few films I've heard of with that locale - but the story in the film takes place somewhere in Midwestern America. I knew that going in, so it made it kind of strange to view, in that respect. However, the story seemed very realistic. In parts, it almost felt like a documentary, it was so real and atmospheric.However, as much as I enjoyed the movie, and particularly Forest Whitaker with his odd accent, the ending was a big disappointment. The film had so much promise up until then.Some people say this film had the feel of a Coen Brothers movie, and I agree with that. To some, this might also have been a bit slow or boring but I thought it had unique atmosphere to it. With a more satisfying ending, I would have bought the DVD and watched it several more times.

HEAVEN stars Forest Whitaker as an insurance investigator who smells a rat in the case of a fatal car crash in snowy Minnesota. In fact, it turns out to be just one in a series of insurance frauds perpetrated by a sister (Julia Styles) and brother (Jeremy Renner of ROAD TRIP). The movie, directed by an Icelander, has a n extremely bleak feel about it. Ice and snow are not surprisingly a prevalent theme. The locations look a lot like those used in FARGO, in fact. This is a thriller, but a thinking man's thriller, and confused identities play a prominent role. Whitaker offers up a very odd, clipped accent and stutter to go with his shambling, raincoat-draped, Colombo-like character. Renner, who has been pretty much invisible throughout his career, acts the bejeezus out of his character -- just as he did on a recent HOUSE, MD, where he played a nihilistic punk rocker. Styles, more of a pretty face than an actress, manages to look pretty throughout, even with dirty hair and shabby clothes. Worth a look. Clearly a foreign film using a trio of American stars and U.S. locales. But still foreign. Check out the names in the closing credits to see what I mean.