Joline is awesome but the film is a mess
The film tries to tell the story of Daniel Pearl, a journalist for the Wall Street Journal who gets kidnapped and murdered by extremists. Unfortunatley it fails to delivery on an emotional level. Angelina Joline is superb, probably her best role ever but unfortunately the rest of the story telling is just so weak. We are left to make certain assumptions as the film jumps around from one scene to another. One minute they're interrogating someone in jail and the next minute there's a hundred police smashing down someone's door and carting off a load of people. We assume that the detainee has cracked and given some intelligence but we don't really know. This happens continually throughout the film. There are also flashbacks but again we're not sure, we think it's part of the next scene but then it clicks it's in the past, again. Very poor direction. It's hard to get attached to any of the characters, despite Joline's performance, her character is pretty tough and speaks like a robot with a French accent. The atmosphere in the streets of Karachi is very realistic but at the end of the day the story is poorly told with a lack of emotion that ultimately spoils what could have been a very enlightening film.

Deadly insight
A truly perceptive insight into the suffering generated by such atrocious acts. Very well worth watching and a classic in many ways becuse of the accuracy of its depiction and the credibility of teh cahracters and screenpaly.

A mighty important film, showing humanity at its best and at its worst


Jolie is wonderful, ..... Marianne Pearl (Angeline Jolie), a journalist, is in Pakistan with her fellow reporter husband, Daniel (Dan Futterman). They are planning to leave the country soon but have stayed a bit longer so that Daniel can interview an important, militant cleric. It is 2002, only months after the 9/11 attacks. Alas, Daniel, a Jewish man, vanishes into thin air. Marianne, who is expecting the couple's first child, is alarmed. As well she should be. Word comes soon enough that Daniel has been kidnapped by terrorists and that the situation is extremely precarious. Yet, Marianne is not without hope, knowing that miracles have happened. With the aid of the Pakistani police force, the FBI, and fellow reporters from the NY Times, everyone makes a frantic search to find Daniel in time. Will they? This is a mighty film indeed, but, not an easy one to digest. When the good-hearted of the world come face to face with evil, it is never a pretty picture, it seems. Jolie is simply outstanding as the journalist and wife who is caught in the web of a terrorist plot. It is a miracle that her character, Marianne, did not lose her baby. The other cast members, including Will Patton as a loathsome government worker and a group of largely unknown native actors, are great, too. The Karachi setting is both beautiful and tragic, as the poverty stricken neighborhoods are shown with glaring honesty. Costumes and production values are very fine. Most important of all is the message of the film, one which takes a page from Anne Frank's Diary. There are good people in the world, loving people, and sometimes they are taken away by evil forces. Yet, they remain as shining examples of hope in a world where hope is desperately needed and, consequently, evil never really triumphs in the bigger picture. Anyone who wants to become a better person, including, hopefully, members of the governments of this world, would benefit greatly from a showing of this mighty movie, indeed.

A Tragedy That Illuminates Grief and Hatred
'The film's strict avoidance of exploitation and sensationalism only adds to the film's emotional impact. In just a few scenes, Futterman - the acclaimed screenwriter of Capote - digs deeply into Daniel as a journalist and a man. But the film belongs to Jolie. This is by far her best performance, strong and true in every detail from Mariane's accent (her roots are Dutch and Afro-Cuban) to the strength she shows under fire. Her total immersion in the role keeps the film from getting lost in the rush of details." Peter Travers

Mariane Pearl wrote a book about her experiences while her husband Daniel Pearl was held captive by Jihadists. The book 'The Brave Life and Death of my husband, Danny Pearl' is but a piece of this film. The film is badly named to begin with, doesn't have the catch for an audience. However, the acting and history of Pakistan and the Jihads far out way any negativity.

Angelina Jolie has marked this role as her own and she has perfected it. As has been mentioned numerous times her accent and look became Mariane. But at the same time Angelina Jolie was too much for the movie. It should have been a hit. The other numerous cast were absolutely right for their roles- no gratuitous violence overshadowed the film. We all knew how it was going to end, and the telling of Danny;s murder was held with aplomb. Mariane falls apart and goes to her room to keel. However, this was too much, were we all thinking 'is this overdone', is this just right, has this gone on too long'?

The history of Pakistan and the part it played in the jihad and in Al qaeda is the mainframe of the story. What was it that attracted the Jihad to Danny Pearl, and why did they plan his kidnapping and resultant death? The filming was a highlight-the city of Karachi at its best and worst in the light of day and night is a story in itself.

The birth of Adam, Mariane and Danny's son and their life in France is the conclusion of this tragedy. A life that was undone and for what purpose?

What is best about "A Mighty Heart" is that it doesn't reduce the Daniel Pearl story to a plot, but elevates it to a tragedy. A tragedy that illuminates and grieves for the hatred that runs loose in our world, hatred as a mad dog that attacks everyone. Attacks them for what seems, to the dog, the best of reasons." Roger Ebert

Recommended. prisrob 03-25-08

Girl, Interrupted



Almost total lack of dramatic tension
The abduction and gruesome murder of Daniel Pearl by Islamic terrorists in Karachi was a tragic event in a sea of tragic events over the world. This film is a straight dramatisation of this story, seen from the point of view of Pearl's French wife, played by Angelina Jolie. The film is excellent in projecting local atmosphere and the authentic feeling is added to by a clutch of fine Pakistani actors playing the local characters. Angelina Jolie displays a very convincing French accent. She plays the part of a spouse who is unnaturally calm, even hard, in response to her husband's fate but on hearing of his death, she breaks down with a loud and chilling wailing which is quite unnerving.

Most of the action covers the efforts of the local CID to trace the terrorists (they have received the obligatory video) by clever cross referencing of telephone contacts but ultimately it is all too late. The workings of the security people is portrayed in a low key way - busy people going about their business, working on the problems in a methodical way.

The problem with this film is the material. It is not suitable for a feature film of this length. We know the ending and because the action is probably very close to what happened, there is no inherent dramatic tension. Real life, even in these circumstances, is not very interesting. They could have done a 'based on' screenplay but this would have sensationalised things and would have been upsetting for his family. Making the film so soon after the event must have constrained the makers considerably. In my view, the best way to deal with this story is by a straightforward documentary. In such a film, the background to the execution could be explored in much more detail - Islamic terrorism, the political situation in Pakistan, interviews with the people involved. Docudrama is a very tricky format and often handled badly. It stems from the film and TV industry's belief that the viewer must be spoon-fed facts wrapped up to resemble our favourite police procedural to keep our attention.

This film is done well technically but what is it supposed to be? A drama for our enjoyment or an instructive tract for our illumination. I am afraid it largely fails from which ever angle you look at it.

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