A Mighty Heart

A Mighty Heart - Pearl's Gift on Film
"A Mighty Heart" has brought a terrible story of loss to film. The director creates a web of suspense and uneasiness that is meant to convey the feelings of being a foreign journalist in Pakistan at that time. While Marianne never gets Daniel back, her resilience shines through and makes us feel that his memory will live on.

Daniel Pearl appears in the early frames of the film as he attempts to arrange to meet with a controversial figure. Most of the film's remainder is centered around the frantic attempts by Pakistani Secret Police, the FBI, French Intelligence, and Marianne to track down his captors and negotiate his safe return.

Angelina Jolie plays Marianne, wife of slain journalist Daniel Pearl. The film is based on her autobiographical book, A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband, Danny Pearl. Jolie's performance is largely good. She is caught in several technical...

A Tragedy That Illuminates and Grieves 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...

Compelling Docudrama Meticulously Follows Mariane Pearl's Harrowing Search for Her Husband
The harrowing images of Benazir Bhutto's assassination bring to light the pervasive instability of Pakistan's political system, and even though over five years have elapsed since The Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl's kidnapping and murder, director Michael Winterbottom has captured a frenetic, scarifying atmosphere in this 2007 film that feels as current as the latest news on CNN. I cannot imagine the unrelenting nightmare Mariane Pearl, five months pregnant, must have felt for those endless weeks back in early 2002 when her husband was being held hostage by radical Islamic terrorists in Karachi. Winterbottom, along with screenwriter John Orloff, brings visceral life to her stunning 2003 memoir by taking a docudrama approach similar to Paul Greengrass' immensely powerful United 93 and applying it to her disheartening experience. This...

Click to Editorial Reviews