This movie is comprised of three different stories, that only connect with each other on a thematic level. The stories are all very contains (both in place and time), and there's not many characters in each of them. All of this works quite well for the film's attempt at exploring something from different angles: violence in the home. Most of the 3 stories is spent on establishing the relationships, and it works kind of for all of them. But when the movie ends, I was still in a position where I could not quite make sense of the climaxes to each story. While we've been partially explained the motivations between how the stories end, there's still a leap from what we see to what happens in some of them. That leap can be filled with a general "mental disorder", but I don't think the director aimed for it to be that simple.That is my one and only objection with the film, as I really enjoyed the rest of it. The stories were very distinct, the characters unique, and the individual conflicts engaging. The movie has gotten some attention for its violence, which is both brutal and realistic (especially in how it's shot). I'm not sure how the actors made it seem so real, and I hope that they weren't genuinely attacking each other for the shots. Either way it worked really well.

Almost every Nordic movie has a very special feature - even if the beginning seems slow and the story is unfolding in short steps, the viewer is literally sucked into it and eventually feels like the time was well spent. This is also a case of 90 Minutes.The movie takes us into distinct lives of 3 very different people. Things do not seem optimistic for any of them from the beginning and they're not going to change much. Even though we don't learn everything - there are many "whys" unanswered - we learn just enough to understand why things end how they end.As mentioned, the beginning of the movie is as slow as can be, which lets the viewer think about the whole story more. Performances are simply stunning - you can read the emotion from the actor's face. Aksel Hennie is a big talent and seem to fit in any role. Together with great camera (which doesn't always show everything similarly as the story doesn't tell everything) makes 90 Minutes well worth spending the 90 minutes to watch it.

Norwegian screenwriter and director Eva Sørhaug's second feature film which she wrote, is inspired by and article series in the Norwegian tabloid newspaper VG from 2007 about domestic partnership crimes where men were the offenders and women the victims. It premiered in the Vanguard section at the 37th Toronto International Film Festival in 2012 and is a Norwegian production which was shot on location in Oslo, Norway and produced by Norwegian film editor and producer Håkon Øverås. It tells the story about an established though troubled middle-aged couple, a feuding ex-couple with two adolescent daughters and an abusive relationship between a couple who recently became parents. Finely and precisely directed by Norwegian filmmaker Eva Sørhaug, this fictional and finely paced character piece which is narrated from multiple viewpoints though mostly from the three male protagonists point of view, draws an acute, unsettling and unsentimental portrayal of 90 minutes of a day in the lives of three men and three women. While notable for its bleak and naturalistic interior milieu depiction, fine production design by Norwegian production designer Nina-Bjerch Andresen, cinematography by Danish cinematographer Harald Gunnar Paalgard and use of sound, this narrative-driven psychological drama which in a way seems like three short feature films merged into one, contains a prominent and poignant score by Norwegian composer Henrik Skram which emphasizes the ominous atmosphere.This intentionally provocative, kind of Greek tragedy and visceral urban chamber-piece about a dark theme that has rarely been examined in Norwegian cinema, is impelled and reinforced by its cogent narrative structure, interrelating stories, tormented characters, the efficiently understated acting performance by Norwegian actor Bjørn Floberg where so much is expressed through his face, the mostly physical acting performance by actor and director Aksel Hennie in a commendable against type role and the fine acting performances by actor Mads Ousdal, actress Pia Tjelta and actress Kaia Varjord in her debut feature film role. A throughout tense thriller which is one of the most distinct expressions from a female Norwegian filmmaker and most rigorous and minimalistic Norwegian films in recent years.

I went to a screening of this film at the Toronto International Film Festival. We had to exchange tickets at the last minute before leaving the city and we picked this one quite at random. I must say I didn't expect what I saw. The film begins as slowly as any film can be. A woman and his husband prepare for their children's birthday party. An older man cancels his newspaper subscription. A young man watches TV and observes the teenagers playing on the other side of the street. Going into the film, you know you're about to observe the last 90 minutes of these people's lives. But how do they get from doing the most mundane things to dying? Is it their own doing? Is it planned? Will someone else end their lives?This is what you explore in 90 minutes. The contrast between all of these stories is what makes the experience interesting. The elderly's story seems straightforward. It's slow and it's sad but you know why, and almost how it's coming. The couple's story takes a different turn somewhere down the road and ends with a bang. I live in Quebec, and somehow I find it resonates with recent events here but no matter where you come from, you'll know of something like this. The first two stories (although they do go back and forth between them so there isn't really a particular order) are scenes that we're almost accustomed to. The hatred, the regrets, the shame that can all build up within the most ordinary people only to explode in a burst of violence or drag the people you love down with you. It's real and beautifully shown here. We get glimpses of their past and it ties everything together, so that everyone will understand.The third story begins ordinarily as well. After a somewhat long shot, the camera moves and suddenly the story is turned into a nightmare. It's the most disturbing and violent part of the film. It's also the one that raised the most questions. Why did she stay there? How long had this been going on? Had it always been like this? Unfortunately here you are made to answer the questions yourself. Perhaps the relationship took a wrong turn. Perhaps the man changed along the way. Or maybe it really never was a relationship to begin with. Either way this story is the one that takes the film to the next level. The one that allows us to glimpse into the violence present outside of the world of ordinary middle class people. 90 minutes will shock you. It's not a long film but it isn't especially easy to watch either. It's definitely worth seeing if you like foreign films, or don't mind ones that aren't action packed from beginning to end.