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.
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.