Review of Five Minutes of Heaven (2009) by Tom H — 31 Dec 2010

This is an intriguing film that may get an extra half star from me yet. It's based on a true to life story about the Irish conflict with an emphasis on the after effects of war. It follows a killer who has served his time and the brother of the victim who, after years have passed, are presented with the idea of coming face to face for the first time while having it documented on camera for film. The premise uses the idea of the documentary to really capture the emotional presence of the characters and to help examine what it might be like to be in either of their shoes.

The question of what it means to truly forgive and to move on is at the forefront here, and for a film that really essentially stays within the confines of two rooms for most of its duration it certainly manages a good deal of tension. The interplay between the film crew who try and manage this meeting perfectly and the honest, true reactions of both characters come together really well. Both Nesbitt and Neeson play great contrasting characters, Neeson the broken man carrying the weight of what he has done but also having fueled that into a sort of personal pursuit of atonement for his sins is wonderfully subdued. Part of what is great about him is that we feel for him but also struggle to let him go completely ourselves. Nesbitt is the unsettled man who has never truly been able to let go and who finds himself continually haunted by memories and also the weight of thinking he could have done something to change his brothers life and earn his mothers approval. He is wonderfully sporadic and unpredictable, while also being entirely understood at the same time. We can't help but feel for what he is going through and desire true retribution.

Five minutes of Heaven is about what would be better: the five minutes of satisfaction found in righting a wrong by repaying the debt that has been given, or the much longer lasting benefits of truly letting go and forgiving. This exploration comes to a poetic statement in what is a fairly abrupt ending. The film feels somewhat incomplete, but it is certainly stated. And really it is less about everything ending perfectly and more about the struggle of the process, and the film and its characters portray that process with some good, honest attempt and contemplation.