Stories about revenge and forgiveness are not new to Hollywood, though the stories about forgiveness are rarer. Still, even among these movies Liam Neeson's little-known film Five Minutes of Heaven stands out.

As seems to be typical of Liam Neeson's films, the violence involved is of a realistic and brutal nature (so be warned), and the language is certainly reminiscent of the Irish streets (the film's setting). This realism, however, is what sets the film apart and makes it such a compelling drama. Where so many other movies gloss over the aftermath of violence, Five Minutes of Heaven forces the audience to think through the consequences from both sides. Additionally, where it's easy to think of forgiveness and reconciliation as the same thing, this film starkly reminds the audience that forgiveness does not necessarily lead to reconciliation.

In the end, the film does not leave you feeling "warm and fuzzy" because the characters "forgave and forgot," but it does force you to wrestle with what real forgiveness looks like in the real world, and that makes it a film well worth seeing.