A Mighty Heart

R

Released Jun 22, 2007

1 hr. 43 min.

Drama

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List

79%

192 Reviews

Tomatometer

70%

100,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Mariane Pearl (Angelina Jolie), the wife of journalist Daniel Pearl (Dan Futterman) of The Wall Street Journal, heads to Pakistan after terrorists capture her husband. In the terrifying weeks that follow, she must cope with international attention and find her way through the dangerous world of underground politics in a desperate effort to find him.

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Critics Consensus

Angelina Jolie conveys the full emotional range of a woman in a desperate situation in A Mighty Heart, an urgent yet tactful film about a difficult subject.

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Audience Member

Over 15 years old, I remember watching it years ago for the first time Directed by Michael Winterbottom and based on the true story of Mariane and her husband Daniel Pearl's kidnapping Mariane and Daniel who’s a journalist for the Wall Street Journal head to Pakistan but unfortunately he’s captured by terrorists She does all she can to get support from other journalists and get the help of local authorities The attention of the world weighs in while also trying to combat the underground politics involved as well as the red tape Omar Sheikh was the leader of this whole ordeal and Mariane fought tooth and nail to get her husband back safely No one deserves to be separated from their loved ones in a hostile, politically corrupt nation but Angelina Jolie gives a firehouse of a performance It’s so gutwrenching that you might be in tears by the end This shows how far one person is willing to go to ask as many people as possible while also combating the bureaucratic individuals It also makes sense too given that the US doesn't fully understand the Middle East and their views on the status of the world It’s a bit long and the ending is a downer but it speaks to us that we all have to connect through our words, our reasoning, and our compassion Responding with threats, violence, and terror are not the way Jolie's performance is golden

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/29/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I watched this film because I was exposed at an early age of that disgusting video that was circulating the internet in the days of exploitation and lawless internet. I was scarred by it and haunted. I wondered who was this poor, hapless American? This film gives me context, but I wasn't fond of the directing style. It focused a lot on the search, which is obvi was exhausting and is exhausting to watch. However, I wish it would've focused more on Danny's life and Marianne. Also, perhaps going into some of the history of Pakistan. It's a sad film of course and portrays I think the media and all the govt agencies are portrayed in a non-discriminating fashion, that part was good. It's like watching countless other kidnapping stories, rarely is there any satisfying conclusion and even if there is it's heartbreaking. I hope Marianne has made peace with what has happened and moved on, seems like she has. I can't imagine going thru that pregnant, but life is much more than our worst moments and she is very strong. I would love to read her book someday.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

Full Review

steve d

Surprisingly dull for such an important and heartbreaking story.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Surf whatever channel you wish to, the day you see this film you are going to hear only one news. A Mighty Heart Winterbottom has a daunting task, to make an unfathomable true case into a compelling drama. And the primary reason why it doesn't speak to the larger audience, is that it focuses on the aspects of the world that people often tend to ignore. Addition to that, as an excuse for drama, it is obliged to and does focuses on the reminiscing emotions along with guilt, unknown terror and lack of opportunity. And packed hastily with these horrifying elements the adapted screenplay of John Orloff from a book by Mariane Pearl, threads this sobering journey with formal paperwork and vital social rigmarole that it has cornered itself to go through. The director Michael Winterbottom against these many odds is still delivering a gritty political drama that befriends the humanitarian nature in the workplace. And that very brief period, that comes late in the film remains my favorite part and the gist of the film. Despite being dipped in a series of pathos information revealed subsequently, the troops in the middle of this cold war manages to find some quality time to share and endear. A film of such rigid posture and it feels good to see it dance absentminded; a slow dance but I'll take anything. And supporting cast is a major boost in this film. There are plenty of guest appearances in here and each of them casts quite an impression on us and Angelina Jolie in lead. Her part, to be fair, is difficult to portray. Consistently and entirely covering the film with a reserved depressed emotional ride, Jolie gets very few moments to fully exaggerate and express her emotions. A Mighty Heart has a big upbeating and surprisingly even optimistic heart, but all of that remains to be the aftermath that is to and does come after the storm leaves the sea.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The thrill slowly picks up in the factual search and rescue mission through the oversea trouble's lost translation, displaying how much in the process it's affecting the predicted widow whose authentic figure enables Jolie's stunning performance as the main highlight. (B) (Full review TBD)

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Daniel Pearl was a journalist who was kidnapped and executed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. This film is a recreation of those events. Despite its curiously stoic tone, A Mighty Heart retains its capacity to fascinate and intrigue. The film provides a lot of behind-the-scenes information about the investigation. It's also circumspect when it comes to representing Daniel's death. We see the reactions of others watching the video but Winterbottom does not feel the need to recreate the journalist's gruesome end. He uses words, not images, to clarify Daniel's fate, and Mariane's unwillingness to view her husband's murder becomes a major point late in the film. This restraint is emblematic of the entire picture. While A Mighty Heart may not be the most complete film that could be made about the story, its insider point-of-view gives it a vantage that a more comprehensive movie might not have. (Fascinating look at a tragedy).

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

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Michael Winterbottom

Director

Angelina Jolie

Mariane Pearl

Dan Futterman

Daniel Pearl

Archie Panjabi

Asra Q. Nomani

Will Patton

Randall Bennett

Irrfan Khan

Captain

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A Mighty Heart: Official Clip - Daniel and Mariane

2:06

A Mighty Heart: Official Clip - Interrogating a Jihadi

2:02

A Mighty Heart: Official Clip - The Courage to Endure

2:02

A Mighty Heart: Official Clip - Veiled Threats

1:32

A Mighty Heart: Official Clip - Danny Didn't Make It

1:45

A Mighty Heart: Official Clip - Learning the Truth

1:53

A Mighty Heart: Official Clip - I Love You

1:38

A Mighty Heart: Official Clip - Captured

1:54

A Mighty Heart: Official Clip - Mariane's Message

1:32

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A Mighty Heart: Trailer 1

2:26

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Namrata Joshi

Outlook

Winterbottom tells the story in a similar docudrama vein: hand-held digital camera, a real feel and journalistic approach. There's an urgency in the way he shoots the restless Karachi streets.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 25, 2019

Full Review

Melissa Anderson

Time Out

Rated: 4/5

Nov 16, 2011

Full Review

Ben Kenigsberg

Time Out

Rated: 4/5

Nov 16, 2011

Full Review

Tim Basham

Paste Magazine

No preaching and no proselytizing. Just a horrible happening in a continually complicated world.

Sep 30, 2010

Full Review

Thomas Caldwell

Cinema Autopsy

[Jolie's] stunning performance is a career best and a powerful dedication to the strength and bravery of the real life Mariane Pearl.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 6, 2010

Full Review

Fernando F. Croce

CinePassion

Torpid, faux-inspirational

Aug 27, 2009

Full Review

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Synopsis

Mariane Pearl (Angelina Jolie), the wife of journalist Daniel Pearl (Dan Futterman) of The Wall Street Journal, heads to Pakistan after terrorists capture her husband. In the terrifying weeks that follow, she must cope with international attention and find her way through the dangerous world of underground politics in a desperate effort to find him.

Director: Michael Winterbottom
Screenwriter: John Orloff
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount Vantage, Revolution Films, Plan B Entertainment
Rating: R (Language)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 22, 2007, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $9.2M
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby SRD
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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