Five Minutes of Heaven (2009)

When friend Vika (Anamaria Marinca) asks Joe Griffen (James Nesbitt), the brother of a man killed in 1975 by one Alistair Little (Liam Neeson), if killing Alistair would not be good for him, Joe replies ' Not good for me? My five minutes of heaven!' And so runs the razor sharp dialog and acting and power of this little film from the UK that relates the story of a 1975 event in Northern Ireland when Catholics and Protestants were at war and the young Protestant Alistair Little (Mark David), as a UVF member (Ulster Volunteer Force), gathers his friends and 'kills a Catholic' but the murder happens in front of the victim's 11-year-old brother Joe Griffen. Flash forward to 2008 when Alistair Little (now Liam Neeson) has served his prison term and is set up by the media to relate the story of the incident and supposedly meet and shake hands on camera with the now mature Joe Griffen. It is a film about youthful involvement in terrorism and the sequelae that haunts or obsesses the victim's family and the perpetrator. The confrontation between Alistair and Joe is a devastating one.

Guy Hibbert wrote this excruciatingly visceral screenplay and Oliver Hirschbiegel directs a first rate cast. Though Liam Neeson is billed as the star, the film belongs to the powerful acting by James Nesbitt as the vengeful Joe Griffen. The cinematography is dark and dank like the atmosphere in both the warring fog of 1975 and the attempt at reconciliation in 2008. There are subtle pieces of thoughtful enhancement, such as the use of the Mozart 'Requiem' in the near hidden score. In all, this is a moving film about truth and reconciliation that deserves the attention of us all, especially in this time of random acts of terrorism and their possible imprint on our minds and on society. Grady Harp, January 10

One of the best films I have seen on the struggle to reconcile with one's own self as well as one's enemy. There is no cheap forgiveness portrayed here. The acting by Neeson and Nebitt is unbelievably good and the directing is incredible. I couldn't believe that this was a made-for-tv film. Goes to show that on a shoe-string budget, BBC can produce stuff that is far superior to the drivel that comes out the mouth of Hollywood.

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A perfect movie is a rare thing. No committee can produce perfection; the too many cooks are never so present as during the production of a movie. I've seen a few, but not many. When 1 person does everything, there's one vision to be 1% short. But when tens or hundreds do it, then each contributes his individual failure until we're left wondering, as we do when watching some YouTube clip of kids riding their bikes off a roof, "Wow..what the **** were they thinking?" However, "Five Minutes of Heaven" comes darn close to perfection.

Two men collide, and then 33 years later collide again. Some serious sparks ensue. Who was right? Who lost the most? Who owes what to whom?

If you're reading these reviews, I'd advise you to stop now and get this film. This is fine film making with a pungent theme. Watch it for its powerful and beautiful tale of loss and recovery. Watch it for two great actors giving superlative performances. Watch it recreate a terrifying yet frightfully close world where hell was always around the corner and ever on the TV. And watch it for what it has to say about the problems, the not easily fixed challenges, we face in the world today....

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Do NOT give up on this movie in the first third. I stayed with it because a very experienced global law enforcement officer with anti-terrorism experience told me the movie was worth seeing through to the end, and he was absolutely right.

This is a fine depiction of how gangs and religious and political conflicts get started, it is a superb depiction of the "collateral damage" that affects "bystanders" to the end of their days, and it ends absolutely brilliantly with a typically strong but never-the-less very moving closure by BOTH of the main actors.

Highly recommended to those who wish to think about cause and effect and the psychological dimensions of intra-community violence.

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"Five Minutes of Heaven" is a gripping tale of the aftermath of a murder. In 1975, Alistair, then 17, murders a Catholic man to make a name for himself in Belfast. The man's younger brother, Joe, still a child, witnessed the murder and lived for 33 years with the guilt that was put on him by his mother. The story begins when a TV program wanted to film their "reconciliation." Alistair has become a world renowned speaker because of the insights he has learned while dealing with his guilt. And Joe is just an average guy with vengeance stewing in his heart. The tumult of emotions both men experience as they prepare for their meeting is riveting. Alistair knew there would be no reconciliation. And Joe just wants his five minutes of heaven the moments he'll spend exacting vengeance. How the two men finally meet and what becomes of them is the perfect culmination for this tale of tragedy and redemption. In the end, it is about finding what is good in your life and moving on. As an aside, I do like the way the movie portrayed the mercenary nature of TV programs in their quest for ratings.

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