A Mighty Heart
A Mighty Heart is the film version of Mariane Pearl’s account of the events surrounding her husband’s death. Many people will remember following the story of Daniel Pearl on the news. He was a journalist for the Wall Street Journal, kidnapped in Karachi and eventually beheaded.
Michael Winterbottom’s direction relies on flashbacks to fill in the backstory, but fails to ever set the film solidly in the context of the wider political atmosphere in Pakistan and between Pakistan and the US at the time. Due to the focus on Mariane, we as viewers never see the kidnappers or the story from Daniel’s side after he has been taken.
Of course, concentrating on the kidnapping would turn this into an action thriller, which is not what the film is trying to be. Instead it works as a sensitive telling of the endurance and hard work of the team aiming to return Daniel safely home.
Unfortunately, despite some fantastic acting from Angelina Jolie, the film doesn’t work. The story just isn’t engaging (however much it should be) and the constant backtracking only makes for a confusing track to follow. Disappointing.