In 1975, a 17-year-old Protestant, Alistair Little, put three bullets into the skull of blue-collar Catholic, Jim Griffin, as he watched television in his parents' living room. The crime was just another act of spilled blood in the senseless era of violence that overtook Northern Ireland during a period of strife known as "the troubles." A 33-year prison term and a newfound gig as a public speaker on crime and redemption later, a saddened Little (here played by a perfect, as always, Liam Neeson) agrees to meet with Griffin's younger brother Joe (portrayed masterfully by a jittery James Nesbitt), for a televised interview. While Little might be reformed, the emotionally unbalanced Joe—the only witness to his brother's murder—has other plans. (Here's a hint: He has a knife.) Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel (Downfall, The Invasion), Five Minutes of Heaven deals in the heavy hand of redemption and reconciliation, along with the understanding that those two things are not necessarily a two-way street for all concerned parties. by Ezra Ace Caraeff