A MIGHTY PERFORMANCE

A MIGHTY HEART

Directed by Michael Winterbottom; written by John Orloff, based on the book by Mariane Pearl; cinematography by Marcel Zyskind; editing by Peter Christelis; original music by Harry Escott and Molly Nyman; production design by Mark Digby; art direction by Christopher Stull; costume design by Charlotte Walter

With: Angelina Jolie, Dan Futterman, Archie Panjabi, Irrfan Khan, Aly Khan. Denis O’Hare, Will Patton, and Jillian Armenante. Rated R. Running time: 100 minutes

Reviewed by Joel Johnson

Angelina Jolie has not had a starring role in a film since Mr. & Mrs. Smith in 2005. Her only screen appearance since that film was her supporting role in The Good Shepherd as Matt Damon’s unfortunate wife. However, this does not mean that she has been out of the public eye as her profile as fodder for celebrity gossip has gone from merely big to ginormous over the last two years. To actor and audience such a profile presents a considerable challenge: transcend the too-well-known public image and appear authentic as another character. While her celebrity profile comes, in part, from who her father is (Jon Voight), who her lover is (Brad Pitt), her exotic beauty, and a variety of other factoids promulgated about her personal life, it is most soundly based on her ability as an actress. This ability is on full display in A Mighty Heart as she portrays Mariane Pearl, the wife of the kidnapped and murdered Wall Street Journal’s South Asia Bureau chief Daniel Pearl. Like a great golfer being the first to tee off, she has used her performance to launch a monster drive against which all other actress’s performances will need to be judged. Despite the liability of the enormous focus on her personal life, Angelina Jolie is the leader in the clubhouse for the Best Actress statuettes for performances in 2007.

An undeniable reason for this is that it is part of an extraordinarily powerful story, and the first and foremost reason is that it is a true story. This is not to say that everything shown in the film happened exactly as the film portrays it. Virtually all films vary to some degree from their source material-both fiction and nonfiction-in telling the same story. However, this film tells a story with which most filmgoers will be all too familiar: that Pearl was kidnapped, murdered, and his beheading was then broadcast over the Internet. The acknowledged truth of these chilling events is so resonant that even prosaic cinematic treatment would be elevated. For a film to truly fail in telling this story, it has to not just fail to present the story in a compelling way, but to shoot itself in the foot by actively undermining its presentation.

Winterbottom has done nothing to undermine his own film and definitely has made a number of choices that strengthen the impact of the story. The film has been shot as if a film crew just happened to be following the Pearls at the time of the kidnapping. The color has largely been drained from the film, supporting the somber step-by-step exposition. The action indeed unfolds like a police procedural as the investigation eventually follows a web of phone calls to the guilty. The cast is full of quality actors well chosen for their capacity to blend into their roles. There was, however, one casting choice featuring a former costar of Dan Futterman that seemed an exception to that, but most filmgoers probably would not have been distracted by this as I was. A most important choice is the reliance on hand-held cameras that reinforce the sense of “you-are-there” documentary filmmaking and captures the chaos and terror that living through these events must have been like. The one downside of this type of filmmaking is that most of the actors have little opportunity to present an in-depth character. They appear as real individuals who were caught up in the midst of this story as family, friends, colleagues, investigators, politicians, and as perpetrators. They are captured as flesh-and-blood humans, and we see the obvious emotions of shock, fear, frustration, anger, and grief. We get little in the way of an interior life for any character except…

Mariane Pearl is the only character who is able to establish a much more intimate connection with the audience. This is in part because of the screen time afforded the character and the direct questioning that she experiences as the media responds to the tragedy. She does literally have the opportunity to tell her story. However, it also is a tribute to Jolie’s amazing capacity to inhabit her roles. Jolie has frequently given one of the most striking performances, perhaps even the best, in a number of films even if her part was relatively small. I would submit the aforementioned The Good Shepherd and Oliver Stone’s Alexander as examples of this. Here she is able to capture Mariane Pearl’s pain, her deep love for her husband, her poise as a newsmaker instead of a news gatherer, her determination to help those who seek to help her husband, and her amazing serenity that refuses to define herself as a victim. Dan Futterman’s Daniel Pearl is a dedicated journalist and a loving husband. Daniel Pearl may well have had his own mighty heart, but in this film the mighty heart belongs to Mariane as portrayed by Angelina Jolie.

This is without question a most difficult film to watch. We do, unfortunately, know the ending, and it certainly isn’t a pretty one. This can make for an excruciating journey. But Winterbottom’s film does put a human face on not only the Pearls, but also on people on all sides of this tragedy. It captures a complicated and conflicted Pakistan that may also help define the Islamic world in many countries that we periodically hear about on the nightly news. It is important that we understand that the monstrous murder of Daniel Pearl was done by humans-not simply monsters. As difficult and as alien as their world may be, we can never prevail in the battle of hearts, minds, and ideas without seriously acknowledging their humanity. It also provides a glimpse of an individual who responded with incredible grace when placed in the center of a most awful and challenging event. These are the things filmgoers will meditate on as they leave the theater.

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