A Little Trip to Heaven

Release Date: March 6, 2007

Tag Line: There is no such thing as a no-fault death.

Description: Insurance agent Abe Holt (Forest Whitaker) is investigating the suspicious death of the driver of a burned-out car. Holt has to work out whether the dead man, a con man with a criminal record, could possibly have been the victim of an attempt to swindle the insurance company. When he meets Isolde (Julia Stiles), the dead man’s sister, Holt slowly begins to lose his professional distance.

Running time: 86 minutes

Rating: R

Scoop Review

Plot:  The investigation of a very large insurance claim, $1 million, drives Abe Holt to dig a little deeper into the unusual and horrible death of a man who has a criminal background in fraud.

Acting: Excellent. This is the kind of portrayal you should see in a film with these kinds of characters. Forest Whitaker carefully executes his role. Perhaps I haven’t seen all of his movies, but has there ever been a film in which he was horrible? I think not. And this was my first introduction to Jeremy Renner, and I was not let down.

Special Effects: The only “effects” were the car fire and the charred body in the morgue. That was one crispy dude (bacon, anyone?).

Ridiculous(ly) Gruesome Dialogue Sample:

• I can’t recount the entire piece; however, Abe’s monologue to Isolde telling her how someone burns to death is descriptive, really gruesome, and educational (what a bonus!). Listen to him carefully as he goes through the details. Your blood will curdle, and you’ll think and feel differently the next time you hear a news story about someone dying from burning to death.

The Straight Scoop: Forest + Julia + Jeremy (my first introduction to his acting) + great story = a new formula for Hollywood. This is quality film making and quality story telling. It seemed like every scene of the story took another turn, and I didn’t even want to “pause” to go to the bathroom. Because of the pace of the movie, my mind was able to breathe in what was going on and enjoy the space offered to me (mental real estate stimulation). This movie does not treat you like you’re a herded moron sent to the slaughter of the latest theatrical formula production.

Recommendation: If Heaven is on the shelf at the video store, pick it up before the person behind you does. I had to wait nearly two weeks for a copy at my local store, but it was worth the wait. “Go Forest, it’s your birthday! No, it isn’t, but party anyway.” Sorry, I had to say that. If you do like Whitaker in this, I would also recommend Ghost Dog - The Way of the Samurai. Whitaker rules, and so do samurai movies.

Quality Rating: Five scoops

Riff Rating: One scoop

Reviewer: Drea Codispoti

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Riff Rating:
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