Stars: Angelina Jolie, Dan Futterman, Will Patton, Sajid Hasan, Irrfan Khan, Archie Panjabi, Denis O'Hare, Mohammed Afzal, Mushtaq Khan, Daud Khan, Telal Saeed, Arif Khan, Tipu Taheer, Amit Dhawan

Director: Michael Winterbottom

Summary: A MIGHTY HEART tells the harrowing true story of WALL STREET JOURNAL reporter Daniel Pearl who, in 2002, was kidnapped and executed in Pakistan by Islamic fundamentalists. Based on the memoirs of Daniel's widow, Mariane Pearl (played here with great sensitivity by Angelina Jolie), the film centres on the frantic events leading up to his death. Mariane, a fellow journalist, revs into action as soon as the disappearance of her husband is announced, calling on the FBI and counter-terrorism experts to assist in the desperate search. With the media circling around the story like vultures, Mariane endures a very public display of grief, and her plight is perfectly captured by the unlikely alliance of director Michael Winterbottom (24-HOUR PARTY PEOPLE) and his leading lady. The film was mostly shot in Karachi and uses locations that Daniel was known to have visited, adding a heady dose of authenticity to the proceedings. Winterbottom's cinema verite style of filmmaking helps to create a sense of chaos as various organisations descend on Pakistan in the quest to find Daniel; fortunately the director uses some much-needed on-screen captions to ensure that viewers are up to speed on who everyone is. A MIGHTY HEART is tough, emotional viewing that will be challenging (yet rewarding) for many audiences, even those who are already familiar with this heartbreaking story.

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A Mighty Heart comes at the murder of journalist Daniel Pearl with a de-glamorised intensity: it's not a melodrama about Pearl's kidnapping and killing at the hands of Islamic terrorists, but a near-documentary about the process of trying to find him. Thus the centre of the film is not Pearl (Dan Futterman) but his wife Mariane (Angelina Jolie), a cool customer who manages--almost--to maintain her calm throughout the weeks-long ordeal. Director Michael Winterbottom is less overtly political here than in his Road to Guantanamo, although the reactions of various authorities, from U.S. officials to local Pakistani cops, give the flavour of different attitudes and approaches. Jolie, playing the Dutch-Afro-Cuban Mariane Pearl, does nicely at playing her character's control (others marvel at her sangfroid), yet she remains recognisably human throughout. By no means a star turn, the movie leaves Mariane for long stretches, and other actors shine: Irfan Khan as a detective, Denis O'Hare as Daniel Pearl's Washington Post editor, and Will Patton as a stymied diplomat. As engrossing as the movie generally is, the point of emphasising the police-procedural method is sometimes obscure. Oddly enough, by rejecting the usual string-pulling of conventional Hollywood drama, A Mighty Heart ends up without a strong point of view--as good as its pieces are. --Robert Horton

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	The making of A MIGHTY HEART, Public Service Announcement - Pearl Foundation with Christiane Amanpour, Committee To Protect Journalists featurette
Year:	2007
Release Date:	January 28, 2008
Runtime:	104 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	P H E 9424
Keywords:	Heart, English, Mighty, General, Drama
Genre:	Drama