“A Mighty Heart” makes for a mighty film experience.
With hard-boiled direction by British docudrama specialist Michael Winterbottom and a measured performance by Angelina Jolie, it recounts the harrowing events surrounding the kidnapping and beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl around Karachi, Pakistan, in 2002. The dastardly deeds are seen through the perspective of Daniel’s then-pregnant wife Mariane, as adapted with her endorsement from her memoir by screenwriter John Orloff.
“Heart” doesn’t conform to easy classification.
It’s partly a devastating romantic tragedy, though the deeply connected couple is rarely seen together on-screen as a wife’s aching vigil for her doomed beloved unfolds. It’s partly a relevant modern political drama, though the larger picture of Islamic terrorism and international diplomacy is only implicitly referenced in the case-specific action. And, it’s partly a nitty-gritty crime investigation thriller, though the suspense is dissipated since we already know how it wretchedly ends and who did it.
Yet as an engrossing story with great emotional resonance that also happens to be true, it works spectacularly well.
Dread looms over the proceedings as jihadists seize Daniel (Dan Futterman). Mariane, a journalist herself, quickly rallies to enlist a team to try to return him. With the support of colleagues from Daniel’s newspaper, they assemble at the Karachi home of friend Asra (Archie Panjabi). The mission is soon spearheaded by a determined Pakistani counterterrorism unit captain (Irrfan Khan) and no-nonsense U.S. diplomatic security specialist Randall Bennett (Will Patton).
Throughout the search, the script explores the motives of the extremists who targeted Daniel and falsely accused him of being an agent of the Israeli Mossad and the CIA. It speculates about an incidence of cooperation back then between the Wall Street Journal home office and the U.S. government. But the evidence is clear from the killers themselves: It can’t be denied that this man was murdered because he was not only American but also Jewish.
Despite the injustice and brutality of the circumstances, Jolie finds a way to depict the French-Cuban heroine with not only her specific accent and unassuming look but also her enormous dignity intact. The tabloid queen downplays her glamour, communicating instead her pained character’s quiet strength and remarkable compassion.
Meanwhile, director Winterbottom found the power in the drama while maintaining restraint. He chose not to and didn’t need to resort to cheap shock tactics; he does not replay the infamous videotape of Daniel’s gruesome slaying.
That’s fortunate, because the Pearls’ story isn’t a martyr story. Though it reminds us about the irrational, viciousform of hate behind the terrorist threat the West still faces, “A Mighty Heart” also inspires as an example of how outrage can be channeled into action and grief into understanding.
Mariane’s heart remained open as well as mighty.
‘A Mighty Heart’
5/5 stars
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Dan Futterman, Irrfan Khan
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Rated R for language
