Five Minutes of Heaven

Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel
Cast: Liam Neeson, James Nesbitt
Releasing in cinemas: 18 March 2010
Rated: M

Wages of sin

Most will remember the dramatic German film Downfall concerning the last days of Hitler and the Third Reich from director Oliver Hirschbiegel. Now he turns his attention to Northern Ireland and the Troubles there in the 70s with this tense study of the long term aftermath of an assassination with Five Minutes of Heaven.

The story commences in Belfast in 1975 where Alistair Little (Mark Davison) at the tender age of 16 is the leader of a British loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force cell sent to kill a Catholic, James Griffin, as a reprisal and warning. The shooting by Alistair is witnessed by Joe Griffin (Kevin O'Neill) the 11 year-old brother of the victim. This vicious murder destroys the lives of Joe and his family, who are unable to come to terms with their loss.

Thirty years on Alistair (now played by Liam Neeson) has spent 12 years in prison for his crime and, with a change of heart, becomes an expert on conflict resolution among youths. A possibly ill-advised TV program has been organised to document a meeting between Joe (now James Nesbitt) and Alistair, who have both lived for years in dread of such an encounter. Joe still harbours the need for revenge, while Alistair dares not ask forgiveness. When the two men finally meet in an edge-of-your-seat encounter, the results are life changing for both.

Lacking the budget of Downfall and with a relatively short shooting period, there’s the look of TV production about Hirschbiegel’s latest film. That’s not to say it hasn’t got impact; it manages to develop foreboding and suspense in good measure with the director’s sure hand behind the camera.

The opening credits are stark on the screen and seen in silence, setting the mood effectively. A ticking clock is used to enhance the tension. The film abounds with clever touches like young Alistair taking a pistol from his drawer filled with toys, and a blood-splattered picture in the murder room.

Solid levels of tension build with Joe having to repeat his nervous descent down the stairs in the grand mansion where the TV meeting has been arranged. We know he carries a knife. His conversations with Vika (Anamaria Marinca) a member of the TV crew indicate his inner tension, while downstairs Alistair paces the room with dread.

Liam Neeson of Schindler’s List and Michael Collins gives a restrained and compassionate performance, contrasting James Nesbitt’s jittery emotional reading, always on the edge of breaking into violence. Nesbitt has the ability to switch from panic to rage in the blink of an eye. The fiery confrontation when they finally meet for a relatively short time in the film provides each with dramatic opportunities. Nesbitt appeared in Bloody Sunday and his TV appearances include Murphy’s Law and Jekyll. Anamaria Marinca (Sex Traffic) is a suitably attractive lady to placate Nesbitt in their balcony scenes.

Cinematography falls into the documentary style with often harsh confronting images, and as mentioned, the soundtrack is hard worked to help build tension. Guy Hibbert’s screenplay essentially tells a fictional story inspired by two real lives. Hibbert previously penned No Child of Mine and Shot Through The Heart.

Lacking the broad canvas of Downfall, this more intimate study of two men haunted by a killing carried out in the terrorist climate of Belfast has a grim relevance to similar acts happening every day in our world. Sadly, the intelligent and intense Five Minutes of Heaven will be in limited release, deserving better because it has the teeth to bite - and does.

John Bale