i must have seen a different film!!

Don't listen to the negative reviews

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

This movie takes place in northern Ireland. It begins in 1975 with the murder of 19-year-old Jim Griffin by 17-year-old Alistair Little (you can find more info on the real Alistair through searching the forgiveness project on the internet). The second part of the movie takes place in 2008. That second part is very interesting because it shows the effects of the murder on the two main characters (and their surroundings). I liked that this movie showed both sides. The acting of James Nesbitt is also very good because you can see his struggle about what to do when actually confronting the man who killed his brother.If you are interested in the reasons why people in present day can kill for what they believe in, and also like movies based on actual historical events this is a must-see movie.

This quiet, powerful movie set in Northern Ireland, makes this possibly local story into the treatise on gangs and violence and the tragic consequences on everybody involved. The killer, Alistair Little played with beautiful understatement by Liam Neeson, and the brother of the victim, James Griffin, played with explosive mix of rage and sarcasm by James Nesbitt, are both ravaged souls. Part of the killer died long time ago with the victim, and the survivor brother still sees and hears the shots and bullets that destroyed his family. This is a small, modest movie deeply focused on the inner, subtle emotions, the ones that rule our lives and destinies. Beautiful, deeply touching movie.

A lot of people think a psychological thriller is when a guy goes psycho, chops people into little bits and eats them. Maybe so. But this film presents what I think a true psychological thriller should be: a story without necessarily a lot of action, without gimmicky plot twists, instead drawing our attention to the complex minds of the characters involved.Examples of great psychological thrillers would be Fritz Lang's "M", Alfred Hitchcock's "The Rope", Blatty's "The Exorcist III", Oliver Stone's "Talk Radio", and now Hirschbiegel's "Five Minutes of Heaven".There are no car chases, explosions, chainsaws, dungeons, cannibals or freaky witches hiding in closets. But through a great script & mastery of the cinematic medium, the director manages to keep us on the edge of our seats not knowing what's going to happen next. The movie starts with a shocking crime, and for the next 90 minutes we want to see how it will turn out. That's all I'll say, except to note that the 2 lead actors (Liam Neeson & James Nesbitt) deliver some powerful, satisfying performances.Oh, and the direction is first rate. There are lots of long, tense scenes with no camera cuts, with the camera moving around as if we were in the room watching firsthand. If you enjoyed the films I mentioned above, I think you'll really like this movie.

This film had great potential and missed the mark widely. Too much repetitive dialogue, too many 2 x 4s which ruined the subtlety.This is based on a true story: In 1975 Alistair Little murdered Jimmy Griffin with a young witness, Joe, Jimmy's little brother. Alistair would have murdered Joe also if he had known of the relationship.The script hypothesizes a reconciliation on film between the two main characters Alistair (Liam Neeson) and Joe (James Nesbitt).The Troubles of Northern Island are well captured: the coldness of a killing to achieve manhood and heroism, with differences in religion being the only excuse.It is when the film shifts to today that a clunkiness sets in where a lightness of touch is called for. James Nesbitt, a brilliant actor, overplays scenes that should have been far more subtle, case in point being the shiv he keeps taking out and fondling. Yeah, we really get it. And are smart enough to make the connection to Alistair fondling the gun previously the first time.A fight scene falls (no pun intended) completely flat. As does the 'are they dead?' of the fight at the OK Corral. This is where a psychological war of words would have really played well. I didn't believe it for a second. And a rather forced key role of a 'runner' stole from the tension between the two men. Stark "show don't tell" moment would have worked very well here. Instead we are offered the gossip of the runner commenting on her interactions with the two leads.The ending was way too over the top for me. Liam Neeson on his knees in the middle of London while on a cell phone. No! Understatement would have worked way, way better.6 out of 10 for the leads, and an F for the script. Liam and James were great.