Liam Neeson has been having a great run at the box office with hits like Taken. But there is a credibility issue that needs to be sorted out. Five minutes is a powerful character study that seems to loose steam in the second portion of the film.
The film begins with james nesbitt character Griffin about to face his worst fear. Fear has left a huge dent in his life. Little is his destination and his heaven played by Liam Neeson. The channels want a piece of this decaying hysteria caused by his character. But what is this fear got to do with anything. He is feeling humiliated about something that has happened ages ago. He doesn’t want to go with this twisted reunion. Griffin is initially excited about getting some closure from all of this. But then sort of backs away in the last minute not sure what to do or who to turn to?
The director tries to make the protagonists wary of themselves. The story begins to lack any kind of fire. The director is sort of playing that as strength. But soon our patience will be tested. We then see some really wasteful set pieces re enacted with all possible angles make it look like TV. The realism seems to be lost in some of the set pieces. It reaches to a point of betrayal on the part of the director.
But then it is in a flashback that the director takes control of the film. But is it a little too late for this film. There is so much said with silences and dark hues. You begin to miss the film at this moment. There is lot being objectified in terms of relationships. There is no time for consciousness to play a part. It is a time of dead beats and dumb hooligans. People who take pleasure by going to a bar and telling their friends they scalped someone.
Finally we have the masterful set piece in the end that surely will take you off guard. The director surprises us with something that is wrought with tension but is done with some uncanny restraint. The suspense in these events is forced on to the viewer. Instead of feeling a sense of calm, it leaves with a concussion. The film begins to loose focus once this happens. The end seems to be a loose cannon and drifts from us off the screen.
It is the consequences of each of the actions that seem to blur. In the end why is there a loss of words on the part of the characters? Why can’t there be point of return. But the frustration has left sore and suddenly make us feel sorry for them. They have been put through something that they could neither fathom. In all the barrage of errors caused by the director, it is in the end something begins to fall in place. It is certainly a film that will leave you listless but the performance will leave some room for thought.
[rating:6/10]
