Jeremy Renner plays a white trash criminal with a wife played by Julia Stiles, (known from the Jason Bourne movies as the female agent). Husband and wife fake a claim for a million dollar life insurance after they staged an accident. Will they get away with it or will insurance agent Forrest Whitaker find out the truth?This insurance scam idea is great. Could make for great suspense. Unfortunately the story falls flat, because of some pretty big credibility flaws, things that just WOULD NOT happen in real life during an insurance investigation. Too bad, because the acting is great. However the story just lacks coherence and credibility, so however great the acting is, it still falls flat. With a more credible story this could have been a very suspenseful con movie, but unfortunately now only the directing and acting is left to be praised. What's good though are the many plot twists and turns that kept me curious about how it would all end. Not bad, but not good either. 6 stars. Funny endnote: the end credits of this icelandic production were rather special because it featured the names of ALL the extras that acted in this movie. That is never done in any other movie. I would love to be an extra myself. Knowing that I have NONE acting skills whatsoever I would be thrilled to play as an invisible extra. And what better proof that you took part then an actual credit with your name at the end!

A little trip to heaven is an odd film, not good though not particularly bad. It's a film that survives on the merits of an excellent cast and in particular the performance of Forest Whitaker. He play a quiet, reserved inquisitive insurance investigator. His character Abe has so many ticks and tocks and little mannerisms that it's a pity he's never fleshed out, Abe is a good man but why does he do what he does? Why is he single if he's so sympathetic? And why does he care about Isolde? None of the questions aroused are answered. There is no mystery here. The story is okay, excluding some footage earlier on would have been awesome, for instance if you left the audience in doubt for a longer time it would have been much better. The film just never pulls you in, it keep the viewer at a distance, even with all it's foibles this could have been an amazing film if they could have simply fleshed out Whitakers character. The ending sucks too, pure suckage, inexplicable actions taken and consequences garnered...

i have to say that this was a well acted, very well directed little offering, i would like to have seen more of Peter Coyote as i thought he portrayed the part of the Investigator with relish, and seemed to revel in ensuring people did not receive their full benefits. the whole feel to the film was dark, brooding and you always felt that things could not get any worse for Mr. Renner & Ms. Stiles, but it did. i suppose people will feel this is to dark for their tastes, but these are the dramas that make compelling viewing. Forest Whitaker does a good job and displays a determination to resolve the case that if were true to life, with the income he displayed within his character, i am not sure would be there?i notice a lot of 10/10's for this movie and think this is unwarranted, but having said that this was a worthwhile effort and should be seen.

I really love Icelandic cinema and all those stories which have an inherent ancient Nordic mysticism or spiritualism about them. I knew nothing about this film prior to viewing it at the Melbourne Film Festival except that it was Icelandic. Having visited there and been totally captured by the stark beauty of the country I was really looking forward to anything that was served up.However I was really disappointed when I found it was for all intents and purposes an American film shot in Iceland. I'm a fan of Forest Whittaker but in this film he is totally miscast. And what was he trying to achieve with the inconsistent accent? He stood out too much and just did not fit the character of an insurance investigator. Julia Stiles character was half way to trailer trash and frankly, she just looked too good throughout. Perfect complexion, glowing skin color, simply too healthy - it didn't fit the role. The ending was also way too manufactured so as to keep commercial audiences happy. She's a single mother with a "son" who needs money to survive - let's make sure she gets it even if we have to totally change the lead character's actions to ensure it happens.One thing I will say in its favor is that the car crash stunt towards the end of the film is absolutely fantastic - that really came from nowhere. Very impressed with the genuine level of danger involved - it looked very hairy to perform.However overall, a disappointing storyline with few engaging characters and a poorly cast lead sinks this film for me.