DVD Review: A Mighty Heart

By Jeff Swindoll Oct 16, 2007, 14:58 GMT

Based on Mariane Pearl\'s account of the terrifying and unforgettable story of her husband, Wall Street Journal reporter Danny Pearl\'s life and death. ...more

Angelina Jolie stars in the story of the wife of a Wall Street Journal reporter that’s kidnapped by terrorists.  This film doesn’t really focus on the action behind the hunt for the kidnapped but on those that are left behind to await news on the situation.  

Mariane (Angelina Jolie) and Daniel (Dan Futterman) Pearl are reporters in Karachi Pakistan.  The war has caused other news outlets to abandon the area, but the Pearls have stayed behind with their friend Indian doctor Asra (Archie Panjabi).  Marianne is in the last stages of pregnancy and the time is approaching that the Pearls will also leave the country. 

Daniel is working on a story about the shoe bomber, Richard Reid, and gets word through a series of contacts that a high-ranking person in a terrorist organization wants to speak with him about Reid.  Daniel takes out on his own to get this exclusive interview – he doesn’t return when he’s supposed to and Mariane is understandably worried.  The Pakistani military is called in, led by Captain (Irfan Khan), and the United States consulate Bennett (Will Patton) is also on the case.  Marianne is now left to wait and hope that Daniel will return home safe and sound.  

I suppose that unless you’ve been away from the news outlets of any sort then you’ll be familiar with the story of Daniel Pearl.  I’ll not assume that you know the ending of the film but it’s not a happy one.  Director Michael Winterbottom goes against the grain as these films go. 

Instead of staying with Daniel through his ordeal he stays in the household with the people that have to wait for his tale to be told.  To some degree most may find this approach boring since not much action occurs in the house but since this film is based on the book by Marianne Pearl we only see it from her point of view. 

It was a somewhat controversial choice when Angelina Jolie was tapped for the lead role since she was Caucasian and Marianne Pearl was of mixed race.  I’m not sure that this bothered me as much as the fact that the film purported to be all about freedom of the press. 

It didn’t help matters that Jolie tried to effectively control the press about the film and wouldn’t grant interviews unless the interviewers signed a document that they wouldn’t ask certain questions.  It seemed a bit hypocritical to me at the time.  Perhaps it might’ve been better to cast an unknown in the role of Mariane since Jolie always seems to bring a certain amount of media baggage wherever she goes. 

Her performance was decent enough, but I found myself gravitating towards her co-stars - especially Archie Panjabi and Irfan Khan.  The film is one that tells Mariane’s story well, but may have been adversely affected by Jolie’s stardom.  It’s a good movie nonetheless and should be discovered on DVD.  

A Mighty Heart is presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions.  Special features include the ability to watch the film with or without a 2 minute Public Service Announcement by Christiane Amanpour about the Pearl Foundation (which you can also access on the special features menu). 

The 30 minute “Journey of Passion: The Making of A Mighty Heart” interviews Angelina Jolie, director Michael Winterbottom, Dan Futterman, Archie Punjabi, Irfan Khan, and Will Patton about their experiences on the film.  The 8-minute “Committee to Protect Journalists” interviews chairman Paul Steiger and executive director Joel Simon about what their foundation is doing to protect journalists across the globe.  Finally, there are previews of other Paramount DVDs.  

Hopefully, now that they hype of Jolie’s casting has died down more will discover this quiet, thoughtful film about the horrors of having a loved one taken from you.  It may not be the most dramatic film but it tells a story worth hearing.  

A Mighty Heart is now available at Amazon. As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.