A Heart-Wrenching Story Stolen Directly From The Headlines
Written: Feb 18 '09 (Updated Feb 20 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good action sequences. History-based film. Good cinematography.
Cons: Glossed over some potentially interesting areas.
The Bottom Line: I would highly recommend A Might Heart. This film was gripping and action packed.
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| coldsteel7's Full Review: A Mighty Heart |
I have a confession to make. I don't know what possessed me to do it...but I watched the Daniel Pearl video on an Arabic website immediately following his murder. It was singularly THE most disturbing thing I have ever witnessed. If I had it to do over again, I would undo watching that video. Although it stoked the fire inside of me, bringing home the brutality of the terrorists who intend to do harm to our country, it contained imagery that will be forever seared on my brain. As a young Marine, we were shown all of the Faces of Death episodes to numb us to this sort of thing...Faces of Death doesn't come close to that video.
In that frame of mind, I brought myself to watch A Mighty Heart with a heavy spirit caused by the inhumane destruction of Daniel Pearl's life. When I hear people talk about Abu Graib or Guantanamo Bay with words like inhumane, I want to force those people to watch the Pearl video. A senseless killing that brings new meaning to malice. I watched A Mighty Heart with interest...watching events depicted that are not far removed from current events.
For the uninitiated, Daniel Pearl (Dan Futterman) was a reporter working in Pakistan. Pearl was seeking an interview with a terrorist leader known as Sheikh Gilani (played by Ikram Bhatti). Another terrorist organization, looking to kidnap an American, set up a ruse meeting between Pearl and Sheikh Gilani. The Sheikh was a lure who had no prior knowledge of the plot. Pearl is lured away from a meet spot with promises of an interview, ending up at the mercy of this terrorist group. When his wife Mariane (Angelina Jolie) realizes that Pearl is missing, she begins a frantic search for her husband.
A Might Heart examines the Daniel Pearl abduction and murder through the eyes of his wife. The ensuing search for Pearl becomes quagmired in the normal bureaucracy, but this film does a good job of avoiding excess in this area. There are some conversations between the FBI and the Pakistani head of Criminal Intelligence where some turf protecting tension seems to surface. There is also a meeting between Mariane Pearl and a Pakistani official who blames agents from India on the abduction (who are attempting to make Pakistan look bad). These small details help set the framework for the difficulties in pursuing this type of investigation in a foreign country handling a sensitive international incident. No foreign leader likes to be embarrassed on the world stage. These issues were delicately covered by the writer, John Orloff (based on Mariane Pearl's book). The story avoids any temptation to get bogged down in details.
What A Mighty Heart delivers in lieu of cliched government bureaucracy is a tightly woven story of intrigue. The investigation into the disappearance of Pearl takes up a major portion of the film. The head of Criminal Intelligence employs every asset at his disposal to track down the last individuals Pearl was in contact with as the story unravels. IP Addresses, phone calls and informants are all employed in the search, as well as investigative techniques you would not find in the United States. Tough but effective. Unfortunately, the story was already written so I knew the ending was not good. But that did not stop Director Michael Winterbottom from inserting some excellent heart pounding action sequences into this film.
A Mighty Heart increases the intensity by using a "fly on the wall" approach to shooting the scenes. It often feels like you are trailing behind Mariane, or standing in the room watching the events in person. The camera angles and shaky shots engage the audience as active participants in the story. The use of this style of filming connects the audience emotionally to the story. It was an excellent approach to telling the story by making the audience a partner in the events.
The Motion Picture Association of America rated A Mighty Heart with an R Rating. I am not certain why such a strong rating, other than the fact that strong language was prevalent and there were a few scenes suggesting torture (although not shown). There was no gore factor. These events were true events that played out on the evening news. So minus the language, the sensitive nature of the murder was a matter of public record for all ages. This is a historically based memoir of events...although some liberties may have been taken (I don't know one way or the other), the basic story played out in the news. For that reason, I would suggest that the historical value of this movie outweighs any negatives related to language. I would allow any child mature enough to understand the historical context of this film to watch. My ten year old could watch without hesitation.
I enjoyed A Mighty Heart more than I thought I would. Historical movies often get preachy or twist facts or try to draw political conclusions. A Mighty Heart managed to navigate this mine field without sinking into any of those pitfalls. The ability of this film to create suspense and action even with a known outcome is a testament to it's ability to connect with viewers. I would highly recommend this film, giving A Might Heart four stars out of a possible five.
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Serious Movie
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
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