Icelandic director Baltasar Kormakur directs "A Little Trip to Heaven", a noir inspired drama starring Forest Whitaker as Abe Holt, an insurance agent tasked with investigating a mysterious death in small town America.Bizarrely, the film's shot in Iceland but takes place in the United States. This gives the picture an unconventionally hyper-stylised look, with moody skylines, rain drenched locales, and lots of blacks, greys and grubby browns. The interesting-faced Julia Stiles plays a cross between your typical noir femme-fatale and damsel in distress. Whitaker sports an unconvincing Minnesotan accent.The film contains a wonderful opening act – very atmospheric - but quickly falls apart. You can almost pinpoint exactly where it goes off the rails: Whitaker, who plays a lonely, shy, work-obsessed investigator, is approached in a bar by a man-hungry obese woman. Too timid to push her away, he finds himself dancing with her, their lonely, chubby bodies swaying to the sound of a midnight jukebox. Unfortunately Kormakur cuts away from the moment as soon as it starts. The rest of the plot proceeds in a similar manner, Kormakur uninterested in dwelling on more interesting, original moments, or even his central character, and too preoccupied with rushing through his familiar tale.6.9/10 – Worth one viewing.

This was an intriguing, although not satisfying,, movie and one I still felt was worth my few bucks I paid to rent it.It was filmed in Iceland - one of the few films I've heard of with that locale - but the story in the film takes place somewhere in Midwestern America. I knew that going in, so it made it kind of strange to view, in that respect. However, the story seemed very realistic. In parts, it almost felt like a documentary, it was so real and atmospheric.However, as much as I enjoyed the movie, and particularly Forest Whitaker with his odd accent, the ending was a big disappointment. The film had so much promise up until then.Some people say this film had the feel of a Coen Brothers movie, and I agree with that. To some, this might also have been a bit slow or boring but I thought it had unique atmosphere to it. With a more satisfying ending, I would have bought the DVD and watched it several more times.

I love the characters that Forest Whitaker usually portrays in his movies: soft einzelgangers who are balancing on the thin line between good and evil. In this flick he's playing an agent for an insurance company who tries to dodge off the claims of their clients. He does a pretty swell job, scrupulous and efficient. But then he stumbles upon a messed up couple who are trying to file a claim over a dead brother. Our protagonist feels that there is something wrong, and he dives in the lives of the two to find any sleaze and dirt. And, as expected , he does find something that can stir things up.This movie reminded me of ''Fargo'' and '' A simple plan ''. Like in those flicks, ''A little trip...'' deals with the brutalities that people will do to each other out of pure greed. It's also about the cruel way of thinking that a life insurance can make up for the loss of a human life, and how insurance companies like you to believe that. It's a modern film noir with an excellent cast, a beautiful soundtrack and atmospheric sequences in the rain or snow. Maybe the tone is a bit too sad and nihilistic for the big crowd, it definitely deserves more than the meager 6 it's receiving here.

HEAVEN stars Forest Whitaker as an insurance investigator who smells a rat in the case of a fatal car crash in snowy Minnesota. In fact, it turns out to be just one in a series of insurance frauds perpetrated by a sister (Julia Styles) and brother (Jeremy Renner of ROAD TRIP). The movie, directed by an Icelander, has a n extremely bleak feel about it. Ice and snow are not surprisingly a prevalent theme. The locations look a lot like those used in FARGO, in fact. This is a thriller, but a thinking man's thriller, and confused identities play a prominent role. Whitaker offers up a very odd, clipped accent and stutter to go with his shambling, raincoat-draped, Colombo-like character. Renner, who has been pretty much invisible throughout his career, acts the bejeezus out of his character -- just as he did on a recent HOUSE, MD, where he played a nihilistic punk rocker. Styles, more of a pretty face than an actress, manages to look pretty throughout, even with dirty hair and shabby clothes. Worth a look. Clearly a foreign film using a trio of American stars and U.S. locales. But still foreign. Check out the names in the closing credits to see what I mean.