A Mighty Heart
Based on Mariane Pearl's memoir detailing the terrifying and unforgettable story of her husband, Wall Street Journal reporter Danny Pearl's life and death. The story covers Danny's (Dan Futterman) reasons for being in Karachi, Pakistan, the complete story of his abduction, the intense effort of his wife, Mariane Pearl (Angelina Jolie) to find him during the weeks following his disappearance and his eventual murder.
Member Reviews
smart drama - Pumon
Its hard to make a movie based on a true tragedy, yet somehow Angelina Jolie makes it work in what I consider to be a very respectful way. This is a very smart drama that based on actual events it is definitly worth watching, and realizing what is happening in the worldRespectful Treatment Of A Tragedy - revsdd
What we have here is a pretty well done, seemingly step by step account of the investigation into the kidnapping of journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002, which ended with his tragic murder. While watching almost two hours about an investigation that accomplishes nothing gets a bit dry - especially because we know how this is going to end - the strengths of the movie definitely outweigh that weakness.
Director Michael Winterbottom does a good job of setting atmosphere. The chaotic nature of Karachi sets a foreboding tone to the movie, and I thought Winterbottom did a good job of blending archival material into the story. Throughout the movie the viewer wonders how Pearl's murder is going to be portrayed, and, again, kudos to Winterbottom, who doesn't show the murder at all. What we see are the reactions of those who see the video and their reactions to the ghastly scene on the tape is sufficient to establish what happened. There was (to me at least) an interesting scene that lasted only a couple of minutes dealing with a typical "ugly American" female FBI agent, who bursts into the Pearl home, ignores the Pakistani authorities, tries to take charge and orders the room "cleared" because she gets a phone call she wants no one else to hear. She disappears immediately after this scene and was never seen again. I found it rather typical of how I would expect U.S. authorities to act in a foreign country, and her portrayal was, of course, balanced by the very sympathetic portrayal of the kindhearted Randall Bennett - an official from the U.S. Embassy.
Angelina Jolie was, I understand, a bit of a controversial choice for the part (largely for ethnic reasons) but she put on an excellent performance as Mariane Pearl. Her reaction to the news of Daniel's death was raw with emotion. Ethnic controversy aside, no one can deny that Jolie was superb in this role. Her performance and Winterbottom's direction make this movie worthwhile.Jolie delivers in smart drama - eoguy
If you like taut, political thrillers with good screenplays (Munich, Lives of Others, Indochine), you will appreciate this film. The direction, cast, and cinematography are among the best I have seen this year. You ARE in Afghanistan with the Pearl family and friends as they try to unravel the mystery of Daniel’s kidnapping. Jolie’s performance is stunning, and –dare I predict—the likely winner of the Best Actress Oscar next year. This is clearly the best work she has done. Leading with a credible French accent in the opening narration and creating a strong, heroic character that Laura Croft could barely imagine, Jolie manages the magic of making us forget who she is and what exists outside the movie. Not for a moment did the movie lose focus. I can’t think of many other films (maybe Pan’s Labyrinth or Lives of Others) that were so captivating throughout each frame. Dan Futterman seems miscast and lacks depth as Daniel Pearl. Futterman’s Danny looks like a David Duchovny who just wanders confused into a bad situation. The one weakness of the film is that the Director chose to depict him almost exclusively as a loving, expectant father rather than developing his character and telling us more about his work and life. Two other award-worthy performances are Irfan Khan as the police captain investigating the crime and Archie Punjabi as a Hindi woman in whose home much of the drama unfolds. Don’t avoid seeing this film, as I almost did, by thinking “God, that’s a depressing story, who needs that?” It is also inspirational and thought-provoking in its refusal to depict characters as one-dimensional labels. Suspend whatever you think about Jolie or her prior work, about Afghanistan, about terrorism, and you will be rewarded with a glimpse of life rarely seen.
Member Reviews
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smart drama - Pumon
Its hard to make a movie based on a true tragedy, yet somehow Angelina Jolie makes it work in what I consider to be a very respectful way. This is a very smart drama that based on actual events it is definitly worth watching, and realizing what is happening ...Respectful Treatment Of A Tragedy - revsdd
What we have here is a pretty well done, seemingly step by step account of the investigation into the kidnapping of journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002, which ended with his tragic murder. While watching almost two hours about an investigation that accomplishes ...Jolie delivers in smart drama - eoguy
If you like taut, political thrillers with good screenplays (Munich, Lives of Others, Indochine), you will appreciate this film. The direction, cast, and cinematography are among the best I have seen this year. You ARE in Afghanistan with the Pearl family ...