A MIGHTY HEART
A MIGHTY HEART |
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The memoirs of of journalist Mariane Pearl, whose American husband was kidnapped in Pakistan, are given the docu-drama treatment. | score 4+ |
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| Cast Angelina Jolie, Dan Futterman, Archie Panjabi, Mohammed Afzal Director Michael Winterbottom Screenwriter John Orloff Country USA / UK Rating / Running Time MA / 100 minutes Australian Release October 2007 Official Site (c) moviereview
2006-2007
ABN 72 775 390 361 |
When
this juggernaut rolled into Cannes, it was clear that Michael
Winterbottom was onto something special. His first studio feature,
produced by Brad Pitt and starring his partner Angelian Jolie, arrived
without once compromising the independence that has
made Winterbotttom one of the most exciting directors at work today.
Jolie stars
as journalist and author Mariane Pearl whose husband was kidnapped
while on
assignment for the Wall Street Journal in Pakistan. Winterbottom seamlessly blends his trade-mark docudrama style with more conventional narrative to blistering effect: his gut-wrenching film is a lesson in current affairs that is part police drama, part human tragedy. He focuses on events of 2002 when Daniel Pearl (Dan Futterman) is snatched by terrorists, leaving his wife Mariane to coordinate a rescue under impossible circumstances. Winterbottom captures the whole sorry mess and goes some way toward explaining irrational hatred that triggers events like these. Furthermore, and herein his trump card, he does so without pandering to studio convention. Pearl’s courage and nobility has the power to cripple a Hollywood movie – in softer hands her story would have sagged into melodrama by the sheer weight of its tragedy. Winterbottom plays it straight, and in Jolie finds the perfect partner. The one-time Oscar winner serves up a career best to assume Pearl’s identity while delivering a performance that, instead of shrieking from the rafters, sings from the stalls. It’s a mesmerising mix as she battles with police, politics and pregnancy to try and bring her husband home. That she can make us retain hope for their plight, despite our prior knowledge of the unhappy reality, is testament to the talent behind A Mighty Heart. It is rare to see a film of this candour and skill, rarer still with such star power. As the story funnels to the moment, its emotional honesty and intensity is much more than Oscar-baiting even though it certainly deserves their attention. // COLIN FRASER |