There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Ninety minutes of pure tension as Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt battle it out through Northern Ireland's Truth and Reconciliation program. The protagonists are based on two real characters from the 'troubles' in the 70s, and both co-operated on the script, though separately for reasons which will become clear. They are almost brought together by a TV program on the subject - a bitter and satirical subplot on the vacuous nature of television emerges here. Neeson and Nesbitt are terrific with the former's guilt but inner calm being counterpointed by the latter's ferocious quest for revenge. It's all held together and given a cinematic quality by the direction of Oliver Hirchbiegel, who also made the excellent Downfall.

Remarkable interior acting; never caught him acting once! Amazing resources; 3-D characterization, turning on a dime, caught my breath more than a few times. I'm 79 years old,a stage director, still looking for greatness in acting; this is the first time I've ever bothered commenting on any actors other than my own students. That last scene is unforgettable. Nesbitt is a wonder! If I've seen him in motion pictures before, he never registered. This role gives him a chance to stun. Great joy watching him. Having acted myself, I can't imagine how he achieved the depth of his characterization. Technique? Some. Style? Lots. Method? How about lightning flashes from one method to another, seamless. Stellar! I'm better for watching him in this flick; too bad I don't remember him from others. But I'll be watching!

A lot of people think a psychological thriller is when a guy goes psycho, chops people into little bits and eats them. Maybe so. But this film presents what I think a true psychological thriller should be: a story without necessarily a lot of action, without gimmicky plot twists, instead drawing our attention to the complex minds of the characters involved.Examples of great psychological thrillers would be Fritz Lang's "M", Alfred Hitchcock's "The Rope", Blatty's "The Exorcist III", Oliver Stone's "Talk Radio", and now Hirschbiegel's "Five Minutes of Heaven".There are no car chases, explosions, chainsaws, dungeons, cannibals or freaky witches hiding in closets. But through a great script & mastery of the cinematic medium, the director manages to keep us on the edge of our seats not knowing what's going to happen next. The movie starts with a shocking crime, and for the next 90 minutes we want to see how it will turn out. That's all I'll say, except to note that the 2 lead actors (Liam Neeson & James Nesbitt) deliver some powerful, satisfying performances.Oh, and the direction is first rate. There are lots of long, tense scenes with no camera cuts, with the camera moving around as if we were in the room watching firsthand. If you enjoyed the films I mentioned above, I think you'll really like this movie.

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.