Movie: A Mighty Heart
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Dan Futterman, Irrfan Khan, Archie Panjabi
Rating: ***1/2
A mighty topical film, that’s mighty engrossing too. Michael Winterbottom’s take on the Daniel Pearl murder is an edge of the seat thriller that hits hard, yet touches your heart. The story is familiar and part of post 9/11 headlines. Based on the book by Mariane Pearl, widow of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, A Mighty Heart follows the kidnapping of Pearl, the hunt for him and the aftermath of his murder by Pakistani jihadis.
A five-month pregnant Mariane (Jolie) waits for her husband, Daniel Pearl (Futterman), to return after an undisclosed assignment in Karachi. And when he doesn’t, she sets about trying to hunt for him in a city that is chaotic and filled with rebels and fundamentalists. Of course, she has the FBI to help her, but she also has talented Irrfan Khan who plays a Pakistani intelligence officer with his usual competence.
Nowhere does the film get maudlin or loses the voice of sanity, despite the sensitive issue and the turbulent times. In the end, what remains after a futile search is Mariane’s million-dollar message: the terrorists’ purpose was to scare us, but we are not scared.