A Mighty Heart (2007)

[tabuno]

A big disappointment. Even though Angelina Jolie offers up a great performance the rest of the movie is a chaotic meandering mess. There are a multitude of apparently useless shots that do not contribute to the movie while a ponderous soundtrack attempts to move the movie along. Daniel Pearl's screen time is severely cut short while offering a strong role for Angelina. The rest of seems to be as complicated as the dry erase board seen in the movie that eventually becomes covered with names and arrows that seem as lost as the movie becomes. It is a sad tribute to Daniel Pearl's son and not in a positive way except again for a powerful Jolie presence on screen whose chances of an award nomination may have been damaged by the editing and overall production of this movie.

[oscar jubis]

How is this movie "sad tribute to Daniel Pearl's son and not in a positive way"?
Because it's "complicated"?

[tabuno]

Small Spoiler

Near the end of the movie Angelina Jolie offers up a narrative of some of the actions that Daniel Pearl undertook while in captivity that is never seen on screen that in my mind were rather heroic actions. Instead of the many scenes in the movie that appeared to me to be rather an excessive waste of time for the audience, I would think that the best tribute for a child of such a heroic figure would be able to see on screen some of the actions of a man in captivity and perhaps how he stood up for his own life and humanity.

[oscar jubis]

The film clearly highlights the following heroic stances:

-Mr. Pearl smiling in pictures of him captured with a gun pointed at his head which Mrs. Pearl interprets as a message to her that he is fine.

-Mrs. Pearl's composure under duress and graciously thanking those involved in attempting to find Pearl and his kidnappers.

-Mr. Pearl courageously acknowledging his Jewish background to his captors and adding proudly that there's a street in an Israeli town named after his grandfather.

-Mrs. Pearl making a statement (after Pearl is confirmed dead) that practically equates the kidnapping and murder of her husband with that of a number of Pakistanis that share that horrible fate.

[mouton]

A MIGHTY HEART
Written by John Orloff
Directed by Michael Winterbottom

Mariane Pearl: This film is for our son so he knows his father was an ordinary man,
an ordinary hero.

Telling the truth is generally considered to be the first step on the path to righteousness. It brings redemption to some and relieves the guilt of others. Many people have a hard time accepting the truth when faced with it. That difficulty in dealing is perhaps the main reason some run far away from the truth altogether. Given how troubling facing the truth can be in everyday reality, being subjected to it in celluloid on the big screen is a very hard sell. This is even more relevant when the film in question is based on an event that was played out to the point of emotional exhaustion in the media. (Just ask the producers of UNITED 93.) This is the plight of A MIGHTY HEART, an adaptation of Mariane Pearl’s novel of the same name, about her experiences during the search for her kidnapped husband, Daniel Pearl, in the winter of 2002. For director Michael Winterbottom, this is only the beginning though. Assuming he manages to get people to see the film, (casting Angelina Jolie in the role or Marian Pearl certainly doesn‘t hurt the film’s chances), Winterbottom must then get people to forget that they know how it’s all going to end.

Winterbottom is too smart to go against the grain. Instead, he uses the audience’s prior knowledge of the story to incite an even deeper emotional reaction. He begins by establishing his style. A MIGHTY HEART is not a documentary but rather a fictionalized reenactment of actual events that is shot and edited like a documentary. There are no talking heads but the camera is an active participant in the drama that unfolds. Hand-held movement, jump cuts and an omnipresent observer’s point of view lend realism to the film’s already tense premise. For those who aren’t aware, Jewish-American journalist, Daniel Pearl (played here by CAPOTE scribe, Dan Futterman) was kidnapped in Pakistan in January of 2002. The violent act became an international scandal as the group that claimed responsibility for the crime demanded the liberation of prisoners from American detainee prison, Guantanamo Bay, in Cuba. The American government does not give in to the terrorists’ demands. It doesn’t end well. The film focuses on the efforts made by Mariane, the Pakistani police, the C.I.A. and the journalistic community throughout the search for Daniel. Knowing Daniel doesn’t live through the ordeal and that this search is fruitless may leave the audience without hope but the dedication and fervor with which the case is attacked carries enough hope to inspire an overwhelming sympathy that sinks our hearts when what we know is coming actually comes.

A blustering soundscape and tightly framed street and crowd shots elevate stress levels to unimagined heights. Mariane is alone in a foreign country, searching for the most important person in her life. Knowing the odds are against her, holding on to hope becomes all the more complicated when she is surrounded by strangers, traffic and the sounds of incessant honking, cell phones and random farm animals. The chaos is absolutely inescapable. Yet still, Mariane must remain calm. After all, she is the heart of this operation. If her heart fails, all hope is lost and all efforts will fall apart. Jolie exhibits both outer strength and inner fragility at the same time as Mariane. She is direct and focused in face of this horrific reality, holding it together for Daniel, herself and her unborn child but Jolie’s distant eyes and suddenly fidgeted demeanor suggest just how difficult maintaining all this composure truly is. Being a journalist herself, Mariane’s most endearing quality is perhaps her ability to remain hopeful in spite of all the horror she has known in her own career without coming across as naïve. Jolie’s balancing act upon such a tightly wound rope is truly genuine in both its intention and execution.

Any movie entitled A MIGHTY HEART cannot spend all its time entrenched in fact. After all, there is a delicate, growing love between Daniel and Mariane that is also being held prisoner. This love though cannot be held captive and gives life to hope. Their love comes back to Mariane in flashes throughout her suffering. Insignificant moments like the last time they saw each other take on new meanings, making the loss feel larger while still reminding her what she is fighting to find. The truth behind A MIGHTY HEART is that it takes one to live through something like this and, more importantly, live past it.

www.blacksheepreviews.blogspot.com

[tabuno]

Oscar provides a summary of some of the "highlights" of heroic stances contained in this movie. But "highlights" are not the movie and do not seem for the most part a primary focus on Mr. Pearl's heroism and a tribute to him.

Instead of a static picture of Daniel Pearl smiling, the movie could have instead been of an active scene of Daniel Pearl smiling with his abductors and experience his heroic action. As to Mrs. Pearl's heroic actions, I do not dispute how the movie portrays her role and believe that Angelina Jolie did a magnificent job. Again Mr. Pearl acknowledging his Jewish background is seen on videotape for a brief moment, instead of a scene with Mr. Pearl being videotaped by his abductors so that his son could experience the events as they happened directly so that the full intensity wasn't partially blunted by the use of videotape.

My problem with a tribute to his fine individual, Mr. Pearl, is that this movie doesn't really focus so much on his heroism as a tribute to Mr. Pearl than the tribute to Mrs. Pearl while the rest of the movie attempts to re-play actual events but without a clear intent of what the events and scenes selected in the movie are supposed to impress on its audience.

[tabuno]

Mouton's comments seem to capture well the primary impact the movie had on me, particularly how its impact had on Marianne Pearl. Unfortunately, there were too many scenes that didn't seem to have much relationship to Mrs. Pearl's experience directly and at times seem to distract from the main storyline.

[mouton]

Hey Tabuno ... I would have to agree with you that as a tribute to the Pearl baby to demonstrate Daniel's heroism, it is certainly unbalanced. The film is clearly Marian'e story, not Daniel's. That being said, I was happy Winterbottom decided not to subject us to torture scenes and beheadings. If I wanted to see that, I would see HOSTEL 2.

I don't think the editing and overall construction of the film will hurt Angelina's chances at an Oscar. I felt the film was made with many smart choices that worked most of the time. If there is anything that will hurt her chances, it is the nature of the role itself and the way it is written. The script is far from schmaltzy but her dialogue is often dry and functional, not a lot to tie emotion into ... minus that one harrowing outburst ... her performance might be too understated to register.

[Chris Knipp]

Michael Winterbottom: A Mighty Heart

The Road from Guantanamo

Review by Chris Knipp

A Mighty Heart grows out of a high profile news story. A couple of months after 9/11, Mariane Pearl and her husband Daniel, a respected young Wall Street Journal bureau chief, were in Karachi working as journalists. Following a lead on the Richard Reid ("shoe bomber") story, Pearl (Dan Futterman) set up through intermediaries a meeting with a man considered dangerous. He told his wife (Angelina Jolie) that he might be late for dinner. That was the last she saw of him. The film is the story of Pearl's disappearance, the search for the kidnappers, and the then five-months-pregnant Mariane's ordeal.

We know how the story ends, yet Winterbottom keeps it exciting—up to a point. This is one of those movies whose subject matter and principals (despicable and pointless wrongdoers; high-minded and brave journalists; dedicated local investigators) make it risky to criticize, and it has gotten generally high marks. In particular Angelina Jolie, despite a wig and fake accent both generally admitted to be ludicrous, has justifiably been not only forgiven but said to deliver a performance that's understated and noble. (She shows impressive self control, with one moment of private grief worthy of Greek tragedy.) The movie keeps track of a dizzying array of characters, including Namesake's Bollywood star Irfan Khan as the Pakistani CID's appealing Captain, the couple's Indian Muslim housemate and colleague Asra (Archie Panjabi), WSJ executive John Bussey (Denis O'Hare), gung-ho embassy official Randall Bennett (Will Patton), and plenty of others.

There's certainly realism in the comings and goings of consul generals and attachés and policemen and high government officials (a short film of Colin Powell is shown—his unwillingness to make a prisoner exchange or admit any wrongdoing at Guantánamo isn't encouraging for Mariane). Winterbottom knows how to stage constant raids, seizures of suspects and their hard drives, and interrogations that involve torture and hanging men from the ceiling—without seeming the least manipulative or Hollywood-y.

But as Anthony Lane wrote in The New Yorker, everything in the film, typically for this director, "lies an inch short of disarray." This may be looked upon as a documentary-style "police procedural," but it dares you to follow it, let alone be moved by it. Winterbottom is adept at choreographing chaos, but the effect is too diffused to make the events emotionally involving. There is some of the excitement of the terrific English TV miniseries Traffik (which Soderbergh tried to capture in his adaptation Traffic)—but the separate storylines aren't as neatly delineated as those of Traffik and hence the suspense is intermittent and the final outcome. . .seems to be the birth of a baby boy. The raison-d'être may lie in Mariane's TV appearances, which show her at her best—triumphantly unresponsive to the terrorists' efforts to arouse fear and hate. But these are very didactic moments in a movie that already, despite its documentary realism, barely skirts the edge between showing and telling in making its points.

The film is the product of Brad Pitt's enthusiasm about Marianne Pearl's book, subtitled The Brave Life and Death of My Husband, Daniel Pearl, and the choice of Winterbottom to direct was approved by Marianne. Ms. Jolie's involvement is hardly unexpected. Though known as an engagé filmmaker, this time Winterbottom is something of a hired gun. On the other hand, he's not only good at this kind of thing, but knows the area: he was in Peshawar filming In This World when the news of Pearl's death came, and then he made The Road to Guantánamo, (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=15424) which deals with the three Brits from Tipton who were captured in Afghanistan and wound up in the Bush administration's permanent offshore holding cell for terrorism suspects. The US doesn't look so good in The Road to Guantánamo, but A Mighty Heart's missing hero is an American good guy. The new film also calls attention to the plight of journalists, who have been dying off at a shocking pace in recent years. But why was it made? To satisfy Mr. Pitt, and to illustrate Ms. Jolie's nobility? The Road to Guantánmo shows the English-speaking and particularly the American audience things they may not know or even want to know. A Mighty Heart offers edification, perhaps, but not enlightenment. Much is made of the fact that Danny Pearl was Jewish, and proud of it (an idealized and glamorous Jewish wedding ceremony is cut in as flashback)—but also that the Cuban-French Mariane was a Buddhist. In fact it emerges only that Pearl was chosen because he was an American. The act of kidnapping and killing him was senseless and fruitless. Perhaps as pointless as the US detention of the Tipton Three. But the contrast (or the balance) is not underlined. A Mighty Heart celebrates bravery, but its origins—a book by the widow; the whim of a rich movie star featuring his glamorous consort—aren't as pure as those of some of Winterbottom's previous work. It's a little ironic that this has gotten so much more attention and praise.

[oscar jubis]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Chris Knipp
In particular Angelina Jolie, despite a wig and fake accent both generally admitted to be ludicrous, has justifiably been not only forgiven but said to deliver a performance that's understated and noble.
I don't know what motivates you to write "generally admitted". Ms. Jolie isn't even wearing a wig. That's her own hair colored and permed or, if you wish, "tortured into a perfect mass of ringlets" (J. Hoberman)
The accent used by Jolie to portray Pearlman sounds to me like that of an educated person who grew up speaking Spanish and French before learning to speak English. The accent is used consistently and I could understand every single word, which are important variables.

A Mighty Heart celebrates bravery, but its origins—a book by the widow; the whim of a rich movie star featuring his glamorous consort—aren't as pure as those of some of Winterbottom's previous work. It's a little ironic that this has gotten so much more attention and praise.
Why is it ironic? Perhaps if you consider The Road to Guantanamo a better film. I definitely do not, so I don't see the irony. Why is a book by a journalist's widow not a "pure origin" for a film? By the way, Ms. Pearlman was involved at every step of production. She met with Pitt years ago, before Pitt was dating Jolie. In case it is relevant here's an excerpt from a magazine interview:

Pearl, whose husband, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, was killed by Islamic militants in Pakistan, initiated the friendship with Jolie after reading an interview with her.

"I was alone in New York with Adam, still having a rough time [after Danny's death]," Pearl tells Glamour. I read an interview with Angie in a magazine, about her and Maddox and her life as a single mom. And I thought, this woman could be my friend. ... So I sent her a note saying, do you want to have a playdate?"

Soon the women – and their children – became fast friends. "Her instincts were right – we did have so much in common," Jolie says. "And all the kids are great friends now. Zahara is madly in love with Adam."

Meanwhile, Pearl had already met with Brad Pitt about making a movie version of her book, A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband, Daniel Pearl – but Pitt and Jolie were not yet dating at the time.

"To be honest, I wasn't even sure I wanted to do a movie," Pearl says. "But when I met Brad – well, out of all the studios, he was the only one who had actually read the book!"

[Chris Knipp]

In case it is relevant here's an excerpt from a magazine interview: . . . It's obviously relevant, since it confirms what I said, but I don't see the purpose of quoting it.

Perhaps I should have said her hair looks like a wig. The accent sounds fake. That the words are clear is irrelevant, as is the consistency, to the criticisms. Anyway, her performance is still admirable in its way. Obviously we differ mainly on the merit of the movie, not the performance of Angelina Jolie.
Why is a book by a journalist's widow not a "pure origin" for a film? Because it was obviously written to praise him, and the film incidentally holds up her for admiration, using her book as the source. In the context, it's self-serving, though, as I said, it's (morally) edifying, but not informative: it doesn't clarify the issues or bring out viewpoints we didn't know, as The Road to Guantanamo does. The (relatively) high praise of this new movie issues from the high profile news story about American terrorism martyrs used as the basis (though Mariane's modest disclaimer at the end about all the Pakistanis killed in similar circumstances s admirable) and above all the super-famous lead actress. This may be a better film technically in some sense, and is probably more high-budget (one would be surprised if it weren't anyway) than The Road to Guantanamo, but the subject matter in the latter is more interesting and important. It's the one I wish people would see.

However, when I went to see A Mighty Heart I was the only one in the auditorium, so I'm not sure what sort of success it is. It's been shown longer and in more theaters than The Road. . . though.

This film adds luster to Ms. Jolie's resume, but I don't think she deserves an Oscar for it.

[oscar jubis]

Originally posted by Chris Knipp
Because it was obviously written to praise him, and the film incidentally holds up her for admiration, using her book as the source. In the context, it's self-serving, though, as I said, it's (morally) edifying,

I think this makes your position clearer than the review. I have more questions. Isn't he worthy of praise based on his journalistic skills, open stance towards sensitive crosscultural issues, the way he apparently conducted himself during the ordeal? Isn't she worthy of praise for some of these same reasons? Isn't her reaction to horrible personal tragedy not only admirable but worthy of being held as an exemplary reaction? One that manages to acknowledge the pain of others, even non-American others, at a time when most of us would have only violent revenge on our minds? Can her book and movie be both self-serving and society-serving? The book-and-film is part of a long tradition of autobiographical (and semi-autobiographical) expressions by authors who have done something admirable/courageous/brave. What's wrong with that?

[Chris Knipp]

Of course they're both worthy of praise. It's just hard not to seem self-serving in the context. (I didn't think that I had to spell that out.) And I don't think the movie is a success anyway. Apparently it is bombing. I see that you like it; I don't. But I don't hate it. Actually it was better than I had expected, thanks to Winterbottom. He has skills. I loved the details of the investigation, but as I said, it becomes too chaotic. Maybe that's how it was, but the problem is this is a movie. You can't make a boring movie to show boredom. You can't make a chaotic movie to show chaos.
There is a lot to discuss in connection with this and I could not put it all in a short review, but of course it raises a lot of issues. In the matter of raising and dealing with important political issues, his Guantanamo film is better. And that is as much a result of the basic material chosen as of the filmmaker's success in execution.

It's interesting that the FBI lady is a bossy offensive [person], just as you'd expect, an ugly American. And little more is said about FBI participation. It's impressive how efficient the local intelligence gathering organizations are and how quickly they work on their own turf--in a city like Karachi. But this isn't a very good context to hang that information on. This is a good aspect of Mariane Pearl as the source, in my view: that she's not American and her assessment of the Americans is cooler than an American's might be in some obvious ways. And this may well have appealed to Winterbottom and helped them all to work togetherr on the project.

[Chris Knipp]

tabuno's initial statement still stands as a good one. I have more to say about the merits than he did, but he's accurate about the weaknesses.