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Five Minutes of Heaven

Five Minutes of Heaven

Crime · Drama · Thriller · 2009

The story of former Ulster Volunteer Force member Alistair Little. Twenty-five years after Little killed Joe Griffin's brother, the media arrange an auspicious meeting between the two.

Movie details

Five Minutes of Heaven

“To face the future, they must face the past.”

2009 Crime · Drama · Thriller 1h 29m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.1 / 10

Community rating

The story of former Ulster Volunteer Force member Alistair Little. Twenty-five years after Little killed Joe Griffin's brother, the media arrange an auspicious meeting between the two.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Five Minutes of Heaven?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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The Quiller Memorandum

The Quiller Memorandum

Thriller · 1966

After two British Secret Intelligence Service agents are murdered at the hands of a cryptic neo-Nazi group known as Phoenix, the suave agent Quiller is sent to Berlin to investigate.

The Pelican Brief

The Pelican Brief

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A law student's theory about the recent deaths of two Supreme Court justices embroils her in a far-reaching web of murder, corruption, and greed.

Stillwater

Stillwater

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Bill Baker, an American oil-rig roughneck from Oklahoma, travels to Marseille to visit his estranged daughter, Allison, who is in prison for a murder she claims she did not commit. Confronted with language barriers, cultural differences, and a complicated legal system, Bill builds a new life for himself in France as he makes it his personal mission to exonerate his daughter.

The Rise

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Point Blank

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After being double-crossed and left for dead, a mysterious man named Walker single-mindedly tries to retrieve the rather inconsequential sum of money that was stolen from him.

House of Strangers

House of Strangers

Drama · 1949

Ruthless Italian-American banker Gino Monetti is engaged in a number of criminal activities. Three of his four grown sons refuse to help their father stay out of prison after he's arrested for his questionable business practices. Three of them take over the business but kick their father out. Max, a lawyer, is the only son that remains loyal.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Oliver Hirschbiegel

Written by

Guy Hibbert

Liam Neeson

Liam Neeson

Alistair Little

James Nesbitt

James Nesbitt

Joe Griffin

Anamaria Marinca

Anamaria Marinca

Vika

Mark Ryder

Mark Ryder

Young Alistair - 1975

Niamh Cusack

Niamh Cusack

Alistair's Mum - 1975

P

Paul Garrett

Alistair's Dad - 1975

Gerard Jordan

Gerard Jordan

Jim - 1975

Court is in session

Put Five Minutes of Heaven on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.