User reviews

James Nesbitt and Liam Neeson are making this film a great and heartfelt story of reconciliation, as well as telling about reasons for both hatred and acts of terrorism.

All this in one film is difficult enough, and this is all made in 80 minutes. Liam Neeson is of course the one getting the prizes, but actually this is Oscar-material by James Nesbitt. So strong, it actually seems impossible that he can have a life beside it all. He's done well, but is still nagged by what he saw as eleven.

The story is about an 11 year old Joe (Nesbitt) watching his brother being assassinated by a 17 year old Protestant youngster (Neeson) wanting to be a terrorist during the civil war in Norther Ireland. 35 years later it's time to settle what has ruined the lives of both of them. They are not living, but merely existing, and not a day goes without being haunted by this killing.

The film is intense, and several times you wonder where it'll end. For some the end might not be what they ask for, but I think it makes the story strong. However - it's not the end that makes this movie, it's the ideas and the acting. Also some of the filming is superb, and is recognizable also for director Oliver Hirschbiegel and his work on Der Untergang (Downfall) describing the last days of Hitler. Very impressive from the whole team!

An estimated 3720 people were killed as a result of the conflict in Northern Ireland.

This film is a fiction inspired by two men who bear the legacy of one of those killings.......

That is the opening salvo from the makers of Five Minutes of Heaven, I would personally like to add, since no other reviewer here has said it thus far, that the two protagonists never met in real life.

Five Minutes of Heaven was first screened at the Sundance festival in 2009 and won awards for Directing {Oliver Hirschbiegel} and for screen writing {Guy Hibbert}. It stars Liam Neeson as Alistair Little and James Nesbitt as Joe Griffen. The story is about how a young wannabe hero of the Ulster Volunteer Force {Little} gunned down the brother of Joe Griffen {Nesbitt}, purely because he was of Catholic religion, all witnessed by young soccer ball kicking Joe out on the pavement in front of the Griffen house. After the build up and execution of the crime, we forward to the future after Little has served 12 years prison for the murder, and here we now have a television company led meeting between the two after the Good Friday Peace Agreement.

It's only now that the film really kicks in as a powerful piece that has something to say. Too many third rate productions caricature their characters in films involving the British/Irish troubles, but the makers here are keen to avoid that-hence the appearance of Neeson, who wouldn't have come cheap one feels. Both Nesbitt {ranking along side George Best as most talented thing to come out of Northern Ireland} and Neeson then shift gears to ram home the point of the story. This is about forgiveness, pertinent questions about if that is possible under the most trying of circumstances. Would you be able to move on? And at what cost? Both sides of the coin are deftly rubbed by Hirschbiegel and his terrific cast.

It would be stupid of me to not say the piece has problems since it clearly isn't perfect. Both sides of the families involved are not formed at all, and that is without a doubt a very big misstep. Probably a victim of course of the TV movie production value and the sadly inept running time afforded it. But that annoyance aside, and in the context of the final product.....well it works out rather well I feel. There's some smart points of reference in there, note the young Little handling his gun amongst a sea of childhood toys, while there's a dolly out shot involving a church that nails that particular scene with maximum poignancy. But really, as is normally the way in this type of production, it lives or dies by its ending, and the question is answered as to if the actors involved have involved us enough to actually carry it off?

We are OK here, because we got Nesbitt and Neeson, point made, acted accordingly, yep, see this if you can. 8/10

Its probably pertinent I mention that I'd watch Liam Neeson reading the phone book - and walk away content. Having said that this is a story that needs to be told. People delude themselves if they think the formal end of a conflict ends the collateral damage thats a product of conflict.

The two primary characters are very engaging; The emotion expressed and the reasons for it are carefully and sympathetically explained. There is a gentleness to the story amid the unforgiving violence. In no other historical or fictional portrayal have I heard so simply but properly explained why people got involved in violence in the six counties of Ireland.

I found it "cute" to hear Neeson speaking in his own accent for once.

For this movie, some parts of the plot seem to be a bit over-dramatic and off-the-mark in that sense, which compromise a little bit off its credibility. However, I still note that the core subject is being elaborated with meticulous detail, and the ending is i find very much quite appropriate...

Because, as highlighted in this film, the question of forgiveness is not about erasing or escaping from the past but rather embracing it and find where the things left behind from the past, doesn't matter whether they were sweet or sour, fits to help bring out the most in life. The acting performances by both lead roles are commendable.

Five Minutes of Heaven (2009)

I have a confession--when the movie started I thought, okay, another pro-IRA movie with a heart. And it's not--it's a beautifully balanced movie about the personal horrors of the Northern Ireland bloodshed and the longterm aftermath as participants struggle to keep going.

The two main actors are both from Northern Ireland. Liam Neeson plays a Protestant who as a teenage killed a Catholic worker as part of the tit-for-tat violence of the time. James Nesbitt, a Roman Catholic, plays the brother of the man who was killed, and as a witness to the crime he holds a deep grudge about the murder. And in a key act of political insight, the actors were born on the opposite sides--Neeson was raised Catholic and Nesbitt raised Protestant.

The theme of the film is reconciliation in the mold of South African leader Nelson Mandela. The core of the movie is shot in a fancy Irish mansion where television crews are going to watch as the two men, mortal enemies decades before, make an effort to somehow move on, in public, on t.v.

How it goes is for you to see. The murder in the 1970s is fact, easy enough to believe, and the meeting of the men is fiction. Nesbitt is utterly terrific. You might think he's overacting (he is, of course, overacting) but it's appropriate, and gives this non-action film some intensity. Neeson is strong in his restraint and in the one main scene where he gives a well-written speech about how to understand these horrors he is also terrific.

The filming is extremely simple and in fact the whole scenario is relatively linear, even with all the flashbacks. There are some turns to the events by the last half hour, and in a way this is both the dramatic high and the disappointing low of the film (it resorts to somewhat corny and not quite smartly filmed sequences I won't elaborate). But overall the point is so strong and well meant it's hard to worry too much about whether it's a masterpiece.

It's not. It's sometimes slow, it says stuff we probably have absorbed pretty well by now, and it isn't very complex. But what it does do it does with compassion and conviction.

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.

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.

After reading some reviews on this film i was really expecting a lot more than what I got. It felt more like a itv programme than a film.

The film deals with guilt and forgiveness, and shows the harsh reality of how both of these feelings effect people. After a long, dragged out piece of the film the two finally meet and I suppose acceptance from both of them happens where they can both move on.

Before they met i just expected more tension, and it was all a bit of an anti climax.

I suppose it shows that the innocent person can become the more angry and aggressive one out of the two, while the one who committed the murder was full of gulit and remorse for his actions, the victim was very bitter and angry, but the film went to show that meeting actually did them both good and gave them both the release and acceptance to move on with their lifes.

Just viewed this tonight and thought it was really an excellent commentary on the difficulty of forgiveness, the helplessness of letting go, and, of course, how hate and regret can meet and be resolved (many times with misgivings and myopic single mindedness). It is said that forgiveness (whether of oneself or another) is the hardest endeavor a human being can face. This film brilliantly portrays the anguish of two men, one who hates and can't forgive another, and one who regrets and can't forgive himself. The brevity of the film (121 minutes) and the abrupt ending belies the volumes of emotion that permeate almost every scene. The movie is both compelling and enjoyable while also being very disturbing.

A part not to be overlooked is played by Anamaria Marinca (Vika), a 'gopher' for the film crew. Her character added quite a bit of depth to the film. Neeson and Nesbitt should both be recognized for their riveting performances.

In most films today the focus is on revenge, blood, and murder. "Five Minutes.." includes these vices but, contrary to the blood and gore in many movies today, this film's focal points are, indeed, letting go, finding your life and living it, focusing on what means most to you, demolishing the demons that haunt you, and, most importantly, discovering that elusive human effort which leads to forgiveness. It's hard...very hard, and most of us can't bring ourselves to that end because forgiveness is many times viewed by society as weakness when it is, in actuality, strength.

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.

The story of former UVF member Alistair Little (Liam Neeson). Twenty-five years after Little killed Joe Griffen's brother, the media arrange an auspicious meeting between the two.

Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter called it "very good at stating the obvious but fails to bring new insight to this age-old morality tale". That seems like a fair opinion to me. The film is good, topical, and Neeson is a great casting choice. But it does not seem to add anything new.

Sadly, I am not sure if this film had much impact outside of the United Kingdom, because the Irish problem is something Americans are only vaguely aware of.

A film that focuses solely on character development like Five Minutes of Heaven usually isn't something that particularly stands out among others, but this film contains fantastic performances, a unique study of revenge, grief and forgiveness. It's not perfect nor is it for everyone, but it's well done.

7.1/10.

To Make "The Troubles" of Civil Conflict in Northern Ireland, that Dates Back Hundreds of Years, Identifiable to Outsiders,

it's Necessary Somewhat for a Reduction of Scope.

"Based on True Events" the Movie Zooms-In on a Murder and the Repercussions.

On the Murderer and the Murdered Man's Younger Brother who Witnessed.

Liam Neeson Served 12 Years for the Crime.

James Nesbitt is the Guilt-Ridden Victim of His Mother's Hate (berating the 10 year old insisting He should have intervened).

Neeson is Now Haunted but has Redefined His Life as a Peace-Activist.

Nesbitt is a Wreck of a Man Hell-Bent on Revenge against the Murderer.

The Second-Act is a Look at just How Ludicrous "Reality News" Awkwardly Tries to Present Gut-Wrenching Confrontations of Real-Life Situations.

They Stage a First-Meeting of Neeson and Nesbitt and it is a Disaster.

The Final Act Brings the Two Together and the Fireworks Commence.

An Honest Effort to Shed some Light on the Violence and Devastating Aftermath that Takes its Toll

Grim, Down-Beat, and Nerve-Racking.

For those Interested in the Conflict's Personal Struggles, or to See 2 First-Rate Performances, its...

Worth a Watch.

Tonight I saw one of the best films I've seen in years. You might have to search for this one to find it, because it's probably not going to show up in your local multiplex, but if you can find it, you're in for a moving experience.

"Five Minutes Of Heaven" won the Directing award for Oliver Hirschbiegel and the World Cinema Screen writing Award for Guy Hibbert at the most recent Sundance Film Festival, and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. That, and the fact that Liam Neeson is in it, were the reasons I decided to watch it. I didn't even know what it was about.

It's about violence, and how violence shatters lives, and about how the shattering does not stop when the violence stops. Set in Northern Ireland, it is nothing more, nor less, than the meeting, 25 years later, between the man (Neeson) who in his youth murdered a Catholic for nothing more than being Catholic, and the murdered man's brother (portrayed so powerfully as to bring the audience I saw it with to tears more than once by James Nesbitt). As a child, he watched his brother murdered, and then was blamed by his own mother for killing him because he did nothing to stop it. He was nine.

Both men are shattered, 25 years later. One is seeking redemption and resolution by meeting the brother of the man he killed, and the other is seeking only revenge. I cannot spoil the film for anyone by saying more. All I can say is that this film would bring the Dalai Lama to tears, or Yasser Arafat. It's that powerful, and that well done.

This is the film that young people whose culture is pushing them into terrorism should be shown, before it's too late for them. And this is the film that those who feel no compassion for the terrorists should be shown, before it's too late for them, too.

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

It was just ok nothing new nothing really creative or thought provoking. Dont buy it in any format it's not worth owning which is hard for me to say cause we pretty much own everything these actors are in. This is a movie you watch on a Sunday afternoon to watch a non action documentary type film. I will say if you haven't seen 2007s Jekyll with Nesbitt BUY IT or do whatever it takes to see that limited series!!!