Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Poignant and Powerful!


“A Mighty Heart” is probably one of the most powerful films of 2007. The director Michael Winterbottom has successfully painted the true picture about the brutal beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Karachi, Pakistan in the year 2002. The film is based on the book “A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband Danny Pearl”, written by Mariane Pearl.

The story opens with the life of Daniel and Mariane Pearl, both journalists, posted in Pakistan. One day, Danny leaves the house to meet a religious leader, never to return back! And what follows is intense drama, with emotions running high. An extensive search for Danny begins, with clues and links scattered all over Pakistan. Friends, colleagues, and the police try their best to find out about Dan’s whereabouts. Unfortunately, there is bad news in the end.

The most striking part of the movie is the sincerity of all the actors. They get into their characters so well that they recreate the tragic incident effectively on screen. This is one of Angelina Jolie’s best performances in my opinion. I am not much of a fan of her work, except for ‘Girl Interrupted’ and now this one. She portrays the character with utmost genuineness, including the look, and the accent. She captures the love, sadness, frustration, tension, and all other facets of Mariane’s emotions perfectly. She does not falter even once! The other cast, that includes Dan Futterman as Daniel Pearl, Irfan Khan as the police captain, Archie Panjabi as Asra, Denis O’Hare as John Bussey, Will Patton as Randall Bennett, has done a great job.

All in all, a very moving film, with heartfelt performances!

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