I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

Excellent, a Must See

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

This movie takes place in northern Ireland. It begins in 1975 with the murder of 19-year-old Jim Griffin by 17-year-old Alistair Little (you can find more info on the real Alistair through searching the forgiveness project on the internet). The second part of the movie takes place in 2008. That second part is very interesting because it shows the effects of the murder on the two main characters (and their surroundings). I liked that this movie showed both sides. The acting of James Nesbitt is also very good because you can see his struggle about what to do when actually confronting the man who killed his brother.If you are interested in the reasons why people in present day can kill for what they believe in, and also like movies based on actual historical events this is a must-see movie.

German screenwriter and television and film director Oliver Hirschbiegel's sixth feature film which was written by British screenwriter Guy Hibbert, is partly inspired by real events which took place in Northern Ireland in the mid-1970s. It premiered in the World Cinema Dramatic section at the 25th Sundance Film Festival in 2009, was shot on locations in Northern Ireland and is an Ireland-UK co-production which was produced by producers Eoin O'Callaghan and Stephen Wright. It tells the story about a 17-year-old Protestant named Alistair Little who on his first assignment for a loyalist paramilitary group called the Ulster Volunteer Force on the 29th of October in 1975 in the town of Lurgan, Northern Ireland kills a 19-year-old Catholic man named Jim Griffin right in front of the eyes of his younger brother named Joe. Thirty-three years later a documentary team for the television industry has made arrangements for a meeting between Alistair Little and Joe Griffin at a place called the River Finn centre which is to be publicly broadcasted and where the two men will get a chance to confront each other and tell their stories. Distinctly and subtly directed by European filmmaker Oliver Hirschbiegel, this finely paced and somewhat fictional tale which is narrated by the two main characters and mostly from their viewpoints, draws an involving and humane portrayal of a middle-aged man who after having spent the last three decades in guilt and thinking about the young boy who witnessed him executing his older brother, and another middle-aged man who has spent his last three decades feeling guilty after being blamed by his mother for not doing anything to prevent the killer from taking her son's life. While notable for it's naturalistic and variegated milieu depictions, fine cinematography by Irish cinematographer Ruairi O'Brien, production design by production designer Mark Lowry and use of colors, this character-driven and narrative-driven story about an Irish husband and father of two whom is looking for his five minutes of heaven and a single man whom after having served twelve years in prison and the following years using his experience to tell other people how to get through their lives is looking for reconciliation, depicts two dense and interrelated studies of character and contains a timely score by composers David Holmes and Leo Abrahams.This somewhat historic, conversational and psychological television film which is set in Lurgan, County Donegal and Belfast in Northern Ireland in the late 20th century during the Troubles and the early 21st century, and where a man, marred by an observation from his past, is looking for a way to get the image of the man who took one of his family members away from him out of his mind, has to let go of his vengeance and find it in him to forgive, is impelled and reinforced by it's fragmented narrative structure, substantial character development, subtle continuity, brilliant scenes between Joe and Vika, poignant monologues, documentary-like realism, existentialistic, austere and at times humorous dialog, engaging acting performances by Irish actors James Nesbitt and Liam Neeson and the fine acting performance by Romanian actress Anamaria Marinca. A cinematic, dramatic and acutely reflective character piece which gained, among other awards, the World Cinema Directing Award Oliver Hirschbiegel and the World Cinema Screen writing Award Guy Hibbert at the 25th Sundance Film Festival in 2009.

This quiet, powerful movie set in Northern Ireland, makes this possibly local story into the treatise on gangs and violence and the tragic consequences on everybody involved. The killer, Alistair Little played with beautiful understatement by Liam Neeson, and the brother of the victim, James Griffin, played with explosive mix of rage and sarcasm by James Nesbitt, are both ravaged souls. Part of the killer died long time ago with the victim, and the survivor brother still sees and hears the shots and bullets that destroyed his family. This is a small, modest movie deeply focused on the inner, subtle emotions, the ones that rule our lives and destinies. Beautiful, deeply touching movie.

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.