Sadly, there are two huge factors that cast a pall over the Michael Winterbottom film, A Mighty Heart, and render it perfunctory rather than powerful.
The first and foremost is the subject matter itself. A Mighty Heart is based on the book of memoirs by Mariane Pearl, wife of slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, and his ghost looms large over the proceedings. Kidnapped while chasing a story in Pakistan on shoe-bomber Richard Reid, his barbaric and shocking death at the hands of Pakistani Islamic extremists brought the all too real horrors of the analog world into the digital landscape. An execution viewed at the click of a mouse is both repulsively intimate and de-sensitizingly distancing at the same time. Dramatising such tragically true events is a questionable undertaking in anyone's hands, no matter how tastefully it's handled. The reek of exploitation still escapes from the prettiest of boxes, even though Winterbottom has done his best to give us one fine looking box. Focusing on the plight of Mariane Pearl in the days after Daniel's kidnapping, the film casts Angelina Jolie in the role of Mariane who was pregnant at the time the sad events unfolded. She is shot positively Madonna like with soft lights and a saintly glow. The story is beautifully photographed to be sure, yet the mood of the film is so portentuous and reverent that it manages to undermine any real emotional impact. We all know how this story ends and even though it's thankfully not shown, the uneasy anticipation of a snuff film remains.
The second distracting factor is the prescence of Jolie, herself. Though she acquits herself admirably, her mega-celebrity follows her into the part. Even though she's obviously had an excellent dialect coach and make-up man, one is always acutely aware that it's Angelina Jolie playing Mariane Pearl. She just can't seem to truly inhabit the role. It's not for lack of trying, though. When she first hears of Daniel's death she literally howls and bangs around in a Method-acting frenzy that lasted so long it was squirm inducing, rather than moving. Overall, though, her casting and mostly stoic performance further blunt any real feeling.
The film does have it's strong points. The frustrating web of suspects, alliances, and the subsequent confusion are effectively portrayed. The editing is at times startling and immediate. The streets of Kurachi are shot with a claustrophobia that convey a disconcerting sense of literally searching for a needle in a haystack. The supporting cast is admirable, particularly Bollywood star Irfan Khan as the Captain of the Pakastani investigators. (However the normally fine Will Patton playing the sunglass and earring wearing US Embassy liason seems to think he's auditioning for the latest Die Hard movie.)
Winterbottom is fine when directing with a lighter touch see 24 Hour Party People and Tristam Shandy: A Cock And Bull Story, but not so good with politics see Welcome to Sarajevo. The many pertinent issues A Mighty Heart could have addressed are merely hinted at. The way the media can be an agent for positive change or a tool of brutality, the complexities of fundamentalism and politics in the modern world, etc. Also, the disturbing question remains-was Jewish Pearl bravely pursuing a worthy story no matter the consequences, or unfortunately naively placing himself and his family at risk by purposefully being in the wrong place at the wrong time?
RATING: 2 BANANAS
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