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Over the past few years, director Michael Winterbottom's leapt from genre to genre with a far-ranging deftness where the distance of the jumps is matched only by the agility of the landings. He's given us rollicking rock-and-roll comedy (24 Hour Party People), innovative literary adaptations (Jude, The Claim, Tristam Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story), partially-baked sci-fi (Code 46), art-house sexuality (9 Songs), gripping documentary (The Road to Guantanamo) and more -- and quietly putting together a filmography whose scope and quality put him near Steven Soderbergh's level of production and excellence. A Mighty Heart, playing outside of competition here at Cannes, sees him working with his biggest star to date -- Angelina Jolie -- and turning a true story into a compelling, intellectually and emotionally engaging film that may take him from the art house to the mainstream.
A Mighty Heart is adapted from the memoirs of journalist Mariane Pearl (Jolie), who was posted, along with her Wall Street Journal reporter husband Daniel (Dan Futterman), to Karachi Pakistan, in the wake of 9/11. In 2002, the Pearls were literally one day away from leaving Karachi when Daniel had one last interview to conduct -- a tentative meeting with an elusive subject. He left as his wife was preparing a farewell dinner with their friends in the area. He never returned.
Part of A Mighty Heart is a police procedural played out on the global stage, as U.S. personnel (led by Will Patton's Randall Bennett) and Pakistani authorities (led by Irrfan Khan's character, known simply as 'Captain') scour Karachi's backstreets and secret places, trying to find the extremists who have kidnapped Daniel. On the home front, Mariane worked her own connections and sources along with her husband's Wall Street Journal peers (Asra Nomian's Archie Panjabi) and superiors (Denis O'Hare's John Bussey). It's hard to imagine anyone who doesn't know how this story ends -- Pearl was executed, as captured on a notorious videotape, weeks after his abduction -- and that pall of certainty hangs over all of the character's efforts and struggles. We know this ends in death; at the same time, the frustration, panic and worry captured on screen show that the real people involved at the time knew that was a possibility from the instant Daniel Pearl didn't come home.
If one thing elevates A Mighty Heart above ripped-from-the-headlines melodrama -- and you shudder to think what a less-talented director could have done with this material -- it's Winterbottom's insistence of shooting in Karachi and incorporating a real sense of place into every frame of the film. Karachi's a sprawling, squalid metropolis -- cluttered streets and grinding poverty -- and its role as a crossroads in the war on terror, and a crossroads for the war terror wages against the world, hums and thrums throughout every scene.
The supporting cast is all excellent, but special praise has to go to Khan and Futterman. Khan's character is the head of the new Pakistani anti-terrorism unit, and he's a man torn between the public pronouncements of support for the West's initiatives and the labyrinthine power-struggles of his government and massive public support for radical Islamic action. The Captain is the face of a new kind of power in Pakistan, and Khan's every line, every motion has the coiled power of a punch about to land, even in stillness. Futterman's challenge in portraying Pearl is trickier -- after the initial sequences of the film we only see him in flashback or in photos and video -- but Futterman still makes Pearl come alive for us as a husband, a lover, a son, a journalist.
Jolie's portrayal of Pearl -- who was six months pregnant when her husband was abducted -- has been the subject of some controversy due to some mild cosmetic elements -- her hair is curlier, her skin slightly darkened to convey the real Mariane Pearl's Cuban-French heritage -- but there's nothing insensitive or overdone in the mild make-up artistry of the part; the inner performance is what shines out. Jolie's Pearl may feel fear, but never hate -- and her public face of grace and calm is one part humanism, one part strategy. She's deliberately trying not to provoke the men who hold her husband captive -- and she also truly believes that peace and justice are the ultimate weapons against those who would kill and maim in the name of God. Asked about Karachi's role as a cultivator of terrorism, Marianne's reply is fast, smart and sincere: "Wherever there is misery, they find people."
But Jolie's Mariane Pearl isn't some plaster secular saint, either; when the inevitable end to the story comes crashing down, her howling, devastated grief ripples off the screen with brute force and power. (And frankly, the make-up artistry in the film re-contextualizes Jolie's well-publicized features in a way that lets her simply act to a degree she hasn't been able to in years.) John Orloff's scrrenplay adaptation of Mariane Pearl's book is strong, but it's Winterbottom style and choices -- location shooting, a fluid sense of time, a run-and-gun approach to scenes -- that make A Mighty Heart stand out as more than just a tragedy. The Cannes production notes for A Mighty Heart point out that in the five years since Daniel Pearl's brutal murder, nearly 230 other journalists have been killed on the job through out the world. A Mighty Heart shows us the death of one man, but it also demonstrates how the forces that would destroy us despise the truth itself -- and how killing those who try to bring truth to the world through a free press is a cornerstone of terror's brutish, ignorant war against civilization itself.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-22-2007 @ 10:20PM
Scott Weinberg said...
I had no idea Shelley Duvall was in this movie!
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5-22-2007 @ 10:40PM
bcr004 said...
Two things:
1. Its Asra NOMANI (and not Asra NORMAN), and
2. Most of the footage of 'Karachi' was shot in
Pune, India.
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5-23-2007 @ 1:03AM
Gubbi said...
Corrections:
It wasn't shot in Karachi, but in Pune, India. And Irrfan Khan is an Indian Bollywood actor.
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5-23-2007 @ 5:19AM
James Rocchi said...
1) Ms. Nomani's name has been corrected.
2) I know Mr. Khan is an Indian actor, but he's playing a Pakistani character.
3) While much of the film was shot in Pune, India, Winterbottom did, in fact shoot in Karachi -- and conveys a sense of the place superbly; all things considered, I'm amazed Winterbottom shot in Karachi at all.
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5-23-2007 @ 10:28AM
Donna A. said...
Even thou this is going to be the go to movie of the year. I am not interested in it. I tend to stay away from headline type of movies of events that you see. Maybe because it's to fresh in memory.
Donna A.
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5-24-2007 @ 9:21AM
Rain said...
"It's hard to imagine anyone who doesn't know how this story ends -- Pearl was executed, as captured on a notorious videotape, weeks after his abduction..."
Pearl wasn't just "executed." He, like a number of other hostage-victims of these "freedom fighters," HAD HIS HEAD SAWED OFF. While alive. While breathing. While conscious.
It wasn't just the pain of his "execution" -- as tragic and despicable as that alone was -- that repulsed all normal, decent human beings around the world, of all cultures and religions. It was the sheer barbarity, cruelty, and inhuman ugliness of the MODE of his death that elevated (for lack of a better word) his death as a global news story.
Most people have never seen footage of a living, breathing, CONSCIOUS human being having his/her head sawed off. When you have, it will compel you to notice immediately when such incidents are referenced in vague, ambiguous descriptions that fail completely to accurately convey the pitch-black ugly hearts of those that perform such barbarity AND those that support them.
I look forward to the film as, hopefully, a testament to both Mr. Pearl's humanity and the strength of a woman faced with almost incomprehensible fear and heartache.
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6-15-2007 @ 10:00PM
justme said...
People that read and know the story behind Mariane
Pearl also know that this roll was originally intended for Jennifer Aniston. It was Jennifer that read her book. It was Jennifer that struck the deal and was set to produce it. But, it was Brad that received their production co.(Plan B) in the divorce. So Angelina got the part. I am sorry but I can not get passed this and do not care to ever see the movie because of it. Angelina might be a good actress. She is not a good person I don't care how much money she gives or how many kids she adopts. She is a back stabber.
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6-20-2007 @ 3:10PM
Kate said...
There is no question that this movie was a challenge to amke and portray such a horrific event. I have read both A Mighty Heart and I Am Jewish: Personal Reflections Inspired by the Last Words of Daniel Pearl (Jewish Lights) and I'll be interested to see how this movie reflects Danny's amazing life and the events that led up to its end.
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6-21-2007 @ 12:04AM
Henry said...
I wanted to make a cortection to justme's assertions about the origins of the book as film.
I'm not sure where your information is coming from but it is simply incorrect. Mr. Pitt, like most people, was captivated by the Danny Pearl tragedy and read the book. He convince mariane Pearl to let him try a fitting and truthful treatment of her book. Ms. Pearl was not really all that interested in seeing Danny's story filmed. But she came to trust Mr. Pitt and felt she could safely leave the story in his hands.
Perhaps you are unfamiliar with Plan B Productions inner workings, but I assure you that Ms. Aniston was not the person who "struck the deal" with Mariane Pearl or the film companies involved. Ms. Aniston was also never set to either star or produce A Mighty Heart. Nor has Ms. Aniston herself ever made such claims. Mr. Pitt has been a hands-on producer for Plan B from the inception of the company and continues in that capacity to this day.
While Ms. Aniston was supportive of all aspects of Plan B's working with the Pearl material, I am afraid you have been mislead regarding her role in process of getting A Mighty Heart to the screen.
The movie conveys an important message about the role of journalism in a very complicated world and the frivolity we mistake for journalism. I hope that you are able to set aside frivolous reports and avail yourself of what is an incredible movie experience. The real world of journalism - the world of Danny Pearl - deserves a fair hearing.
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6-21-2007 @ 4:28AM
Noemi said...
First of all THANK you Henry "justme's " comment is false! I read the book and I have deep admiration and respect for Mariane Pearl.Anjelina Jolie is so talented and a wonderful human being I can't wait to see this film!!
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7-22-2007 @ 3:22PM
Liz said...
Everyone give "justme" a break. She has every right to be part of the Aniston team. The fact that this movie made a measly 4 million and barely made the top 10 its opening weekend tells everyone that Jolie is hated by many. Jolie is phony and loves the spotlight when she is called humanitarian. She uses the paparazzi for her own gain and is desperately seeking approval from many by travelling to third world countries, seeming like she really cares. She even said herself that she wants to be remembered as a UN Ambassador than an actress when she dies. So she's putting on the show nonstop, adopting as many orphans as she can. She's not fooling anyone, maybe the few fans she has left, but that's it. For breaking up a good marriage, she will always be in the eyes of the public as an ADULTERER. And it is her fault, no man will leave his wife if the mistress does not open her legs. Jolie will always be remembered as THE OTHER PUSSY. Good luck Jolie. The media still seems to feed on you. We'll see just for how long.
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7-24-2007 @ 5:08AM
ayda said...
Liz, you are SO elegant and eloquent. It's really impressive. Are you Ms. Aniston's alter ego?
I don't know about you, but I also think it's more honorable and significant to be remembered as a goodwill ambassador than an actress or my current occupation.
I think you're confusing the chicken and the egg. If it wasn't for the time, I'd school you in exactly what a goodwill ambassador experiences. I doubt anyone, even Mother Teresa, would go through so such hardship for publicity. I'd like to see you and your idol do it even once.
Ms. Aniston and you all who are on her team remind me of nothing less than the Wicked Witch of the West and her flying monkeys. (I actually loved the Witch, the monkeys not so much - too creepy.)
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