Five Minutes of Heaven
The story of former UVF member Alistair Little. Twenty-five years after Little killed Joe Griffen's brother, the media arrange an auspicious meeting between the two.
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- Cast:
- Liam Neeson , James Nesbitt , Anamaria Marinca , Mark Ryder , Niamh Cusack , Gerard Jordan , Conor MacNeill
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Reviews
I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
You won't be disappointed!
One of my all time favorites.
At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
I have to point out - this character's actions did not make sense - and the script feels like a first draft. For example - this man agrees to meet the politician who killed his brother thirty years ago - and a film company wants to film their meeting? Why? Why would any of these people agree to do this? Plus - he goes to kill the politician? Kill him? Why? To go to prison? He has two daughters. Is he truly so hurt - that he would throw away his entire family? If that is so - than how can we as the audience care about him - because his actions are so selfish and destructive?A stronger choice would have been to motivate these characters to meet in a way that they were forced - not given a choice. The entire way the story is structured - it just opens the door for long winded monologues and narration and unmotivated exposition that bogs down any sense of believability. Honestly - it is just bad screen writing. The dialogue is good - I guess - but the story structure is weak.Then there is a young girl who talks to the bereaved brother during the interview - and she remains deadly silent about his intentions to kill the politician (unprofessional and unrealistic) and then she later tells the man how much the politician he wants to kill is sorry for what he did - but why did she not say this in the first place? Her entire character existed only to get information out to the audience - and that could have been handled a lot more professional. It all ends with a fist fight between the two - and Liam gets to jump into action star phase. Very silly and forced. Also - this film has a lot of long monologues and narration that slow down the pace and - if acted well (the film is well acted) it can work - but it is not the strongest choice for a script. I just feel the movie feels like a draft that should have been revised. Make the man who is in pain really be sympathetic - and not someone who abused the women in his life and came up with a ridiculous plot to murder someone. Make the politician and he be forced to meet by circumstances that is outside of their control. Motivate the exposition dialogue instead of just put characters into place and have them talk - for no good reason. And if a character learns some information - like there is a murder that is being plotted - for goodness sake - have them tell someone and not keep quiet.
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.
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.
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.