AML DVD Review: “A Mighty Heart”

I’ve seen two amazing films this week on the subject of warfare and terrorism, the first being Charlie Wilson’s War and the second is A Mighty Heart.

This movie, starring Angelina Jolie, came out in June, but I hadn’t gotten a chance to see it until now. And it seems like I wasn’t the only one, as most consider the film a box office casualty, making less than $10 million.

The movie is based on the book A Mighty Heart written by Mariane Pearl, about her husband, Daniel Pearl. If you don’t know the story, and you are worried about spoilers, then stop reading here.

But most people know about the Pearls and the tragic events that befell them in Afghanistan just after the 9/11 attacks on the United States. And to put it truthfully, going into the movie knowing what happened doesn’t ruin it in anyway, in fact, it might make it better.

The movie tells the true story of Daniel Pearl’s death at the hands of The National Movement for the Restoration of Pakistani Sovereignty, who thought Pearl was a CIA spy and were upset over the treatment of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by the Americans.

If you don’t know the entire story, he was abducted on January 22nd, 2002, while he was attempting to interview Sheikh Gilana. Pearl was a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, as was his wife Mariane. After going missing for over a month, a video was finally received that showed Daniel being beheaded by his kidnappers.

I remember the story and it hit me hard at the time. Thinking about this innocent man being kidnapped for no good reason, and then videotaped during the act of the beheading made my heart ache for the guy. I couldn’t imagine going through that and then having my family see it all over the news.

But as much as the story revolved around Daniel Pearl, the movie itself focuses on Mariane and the massive attempts to locate him. You have the Pakistani police, the FBI and the American Embassy all working together to figure out the how and why of the whole thing.

The fact that you know what happens doesn’t take away from the movie. It ends up giving you more of an anticipation for when the characters themselves actually find out.

Two actors stand out in this film. The first was Irfan Khan, a native of Jaipur, India, who plays Javed Habib, the captain of the Pakistan police who launches a desperate campaign to find Daniel. His subdued, in-control, yet intense hunting down of suspects and clues was awesome.

But the real star here, and the focus of the movie, is Angelina Jolie playing Mariane. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her do any work better than what she did here. She was stunning. Her accent was flawless. She was completely sunk into the character and you felt like you were seeing Mariane and not Jolie.

You know how you watch a movie with a huge star in it, like Tom Cruise for example, and no matter what happens, you really can’t get past the fact that it’s Cruise acting like Cruise.

There is none of that here. You almost forget it’s Angelina Jolie her performance is so good.

Her scenes towards the end, when the news of Daniel’s death is discovered, are extremely powerful and moving. And gut-wrenching.

She is up for various Film Critics Awards, Golden Globes and SAG Award for Best Actress, and she completely deserves to win one this year.

And the supporting cast deserves props as well. They really helped make you feel like you were with them in Afghanistan.

I urge you to see this film, because it’s an important part of recent history and it’s done masterfully. It’s a shame more people didn’t see it when it was in theaters, but now you have your chance on DVD.

AML Rating: A