Review: FIVE MINUTES OF HEAVEN

When one thinks of a powerful film, what comes to mind? An epic saga? A grandiose drama? A hard-hitting film of controversy? For me, the films that have the greatest impact, the films that offer the most honest and realistic portrayal of contemporary concerns, are those that present themselves in their purest form. All the fancy camera work, all the flashy visual style and emotionally-charged music in the world will never take the place of a powerful story. And, that story does not necessarily need to be complex.

As they say, less is more. FIVE MINUTES OF HEAVEN is 90 minutes of raw, unfiltered human emotion. Not the over-done, exaggerated type that makes for good Hollywood drama, but the kind that makes an audience sit up in their seats. The kind of tactile human sensory emotion that makes an audience stare, unflinching, mesmerized into the lives of another human being. Plain and simple. The kind of story any aspiring filmmaker who years to offer the world something significant should admire and embrace, if for no other reason that to appreciate it’s intended impact and utter beauty, through the harsh realities of pain and suffering, loss and regret, guilt and recovery.

FIVE MINUTES OF HEAVEN was written by Guy Hibbert (SAIGON BABY) and directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel (THE INVASION). The film stars Liam Neeson (TAKEN) and James Nesbitt (MATCH POINT) as two men whose lives are connected by the death of another. The fictional story, based upon truth, takes place in Ireland and follows former UVF member Alistair Little (Neeson) as his is invited to meet Joe Griffen (Nesbitt), the brother of the young man whom Little murdered some 33 years ago.

Alistair was 17 at the time he killed Jim Griffen. Joe was younger. Having witnessed the event, followed by the domino-like effect it had on his family beginning with his father’s heart attack. Joe’s mother blamed him for his brother’s death for the rest of her life and Joe couldn’t help being psychologically devastated by this. When offered the chance to finally meet his brother’s killer, face to face, by a television producer hoping to make a powerfully relevant series about truth and reconciliation, Joe and Alistair both agree.

Alistair’s intentions are clear from the beginning. He’s become a wise man after 2 years in prison, but he’s also a remorseful and sad man, despite his outward charm. Joe is a man deeply and disturbingly affected by the events of his life, and more significantly by the residual impact of the event’s aftermath that has progressively intensified over years of mental anguish and fixation. Joe’s intentions for their meeting are not entirely clear, as he waffles between what his emotions and his damaged psyche desire and what he knows to be right but refuses to admit and accept.

FIVE MINUTES OF HEAVEN is not a fancy film. It’s shot in the most straight-forward style, normal lighting, normal staging, natural. The film actually feels a bit like a PBS, or perhaps in this case, a BBC docudrama. The brilliance of the film is not in the technical production, but in the acting. The film is primarily a character study of Alistair and Joe, whittling away at their inner most emotions and allowing us to peer into their individual processes of coming to terms and facing their pasts, present and futures.

Liam Neeson, as is usually the case, is tremendous. Neeson conveys a heart-felt sorrow and a heaviness in his soul, and we feel this and we empathize, despite what he’s done. Nesbitt also delivers a stellar performance as a man afflicted by his hatred for how his mother blamed him for his brother’s death, manifesting itself into a gnarly and frightening image of a man lost in his pain and twisted by his single-minded need for revenge.

What makes FIVE MINUTES OF HEAVEN so engaging is how the two character’s roles are reversed from the traditional arrangement. The audience feels drawn to the man who has done wrong and feels repelled by the victim. Neeson is able to say so much without speaking and Nesbitt is able to speak volumes, not so much through “what” he says, but how he says it. Nesbitt gives Joe equal moments of calculated foresight and frantic hysteria.

The suspense that develops during the long and uncomfortable preparation, leading up to the final meeting is intense and primal. The actual meeting of Alistair and Joe is not as expected. In the end, Alistair gets what he silently hoped for and Joe gets what he truly needed, not what he believed he wanted. FIVE MINUTES OF HEAVEN is a rare film. It’s a film that has a lot to say without saying too much. It’s a film with contemporary value and deserves recognition.