Five Minutes of Heaven
Five Minutes of Heaven Image
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Metascore
62 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 7 Ratings

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  • Starring: Anamaria Marinca, James Nesbitt, Liam Neeson
  • Summary: Lurgan Northern Ireland, 1975. A low level civil war has been underway, with the IRA targeting British loyalists and the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force exacting revenge on Catholics they claim are militant republicans. Alistair Little, 16 is the leader of a UVF cell, eager to be blooded. He and his gang are given the go ahead to kill a young Catholic man, James Griffin, as a reprisal and a warning to others. When the hit is carried out, Joe Griffin - the 11-year old little brother of the target - watches in horror his brother is shot in the head. Thirty years later Joe Griffin and Alistair are to meet, on camera, with a view to reconciliation. Alistair has served his sentence, and Peace may been agreed in N. Ireland, but unbeknownst to the production team, Joe Griffin, is not coming on the program for a handshake but to stick a knife in his brother's killer - live on air. (IFC Films)… Collapse

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 15
  3. Negative: 1 out of 15
  1. Time Out New York
    Reviewed by: David Fear
    80
    When violence eventually rears its ugly head again, the effect is as anticlimactic as the movie’s title is misleading. Brief bliss is a red herring; there’s only a lifetime of pain left in such acts’ wakes.
  2. Variety
    Reviewed by: Dennis Harvey
    80
    Powerhouse performances by Liam Neeson and James Nesbit make this an intense, ultimately moving tale.
  3. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    50
    Based on a true story -- that never happened. That might explain why the film circles and circles its subject but never strikes dramatic pay dirt.
  4. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Joe Neumaier
    20
    Early scenes set up the tragedy, but the majority of Oliver Hirschbiegel's movie is set in a TV studio where the two eventually face each other, and the tension, unfortunately, quickly becomes stagey.

See all 15 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. JoseC
    9
    Great performances,well directed but uneven script.
  2. DeborahT
    9
    This was a powerful film that left me haunted.

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