Review of "A Mighty Heart"

Other Reviews:
"Karma Cafe"(movie)
"Talk to Me" (movie)
"Eavesdropper" (play)
Alexandros Kapelis (piano recital)





The true story of Mariane Pearl, wife of the Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl beheaded by the Taliban on video for all to see, is a film I wanted to appreciate if not like if only to honor their lives. Sad to say, although this film is a dignified tribute to Daniel Pearl and the courage and equanimity of his wife, it was tiresome, confusing and surprisingly lacking in emotional impact. Perhaps it's existence is justified, as it is said at the closing, so that their son will know who his father was, and how his mother dealt with it.

When telling a story of which the outcome is already known, we need to learn something about the characters we didn't know and we need to be shown the dynamics that set up the conflict and the outcome. Might Heart does some of this but the fractured structure of flashbacks and parallel actions do not illuminate any of this. Daniel's disappearance should have been a descent into the mouth of evil, but there was barely a hint of danger. The filmmakers rightfully spared us the horror of Daniel's murder, but we saw nothing of his capture or captivity, nor anyone talking about it, to awaken our sympathy for him. I kept feeling like I should be feeling the pain of this woman, and I am one who does react emotionally to movies a lot. There's an ongoing business with the chart created by Mariane and updated throught the picture in trying to track down the kidnappers, but the filmmakers never give us an exposition of what it means, and how the pieces are fitting together that allows the Pakistani police to find their suspects and raid their homes.

Angelina Jolie performed Mariane's character with sensitivity and authenticity. Dan Futterman and the rest of the cast were up to their roles, so any disappointment with this film was not the fault of the actors. The Pakistani captain played by Irrfan Khan was especially good.


The one real sour note I felt was the implication that torture was a justifiable tool in the hands of the "good guys". I am disgusted beyond measure that this country has abandoned its moral high ground, and now we debate how much torture we can allow so that we do not fall below the morality of our worst enemies. This is no surprise when we consider how much we have turned away from American bravery and honor, and forgotten that warning by Ben Franklin. "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

I imagine the idea was to show the chaos of the Pakistani city of Kerachi, but the editing and narrative was worse than chaotic. The digital video imagery was so poor I got exhausted looking at it. In fact, the CNN news footage was cleaner looking than the stuff shot to tell the story. This should have been shot on film, at least Super 16mm so the imagery could have expression and feeling. Message to filmmakers, from studio to student, "Show me you respect me enough as your audience, to create your works on film. Show me you respect your work as a filmmaker enough to create your works on film. Otherwise, you get no respect from me, and you'll lose me from your audience!"

Other Reviews:
"Talk to Me" (movie)
"Eavesdropper" (play)
Alexandros Kapelis (piano recital)
"Karma Cafe"(movie)