A Mighty Heart (2007) - Michael Winterbottom
Starring:
Dan Futterman, Angelina Jolie, Archie Panjabi, Mohammad Afzal
The Plot:
The movie is based on Marianne Pearl's own memoirs and recollections of the Daniel Pearl kidnapping that took place in Iraq/Pakistan a while back in 2002.
Was It Any Good?
Well many people told this movie was based on a true story but I wasn't all to sure about which one that was. They kept telling me it was all over the news quite a while ago but for the life of me I was never able to remember what one they were talking about, well towards the end of this movie I finally remembered. It all came back to me in this one scene where a video tape was handed over and then I knew exactly what was going on and thats when the movie hit me even more. I usually don't pay alot of mind to movies based on true stories but it seems there are a few out there that really pull it off well and this was one of them, though the movie was Oscar worthy to me it had alot of humanity to it and pulled everything together while being tasteful yet getting to the point. When I did find out which story this was I felt that it took a whole new meaning now that I remember hearing about it.
They had Angelia Jolie play Marianne Pearl the widow of Daniel Pearl and I think she did an alright job yet there were a couple scenes that she did tend to get on my nerves as only Angelina Jolie can. Dan Futterman did an amazing job with the screen time he was given and was probably the breakthrough actor of the whole movie, his portrayal of Daniel Pearl made you actually feel for the character and its quite a talent to pull that off. Thought alot of the scenes he was in were flashback scenes with little dialogue it was simple gestures and expressions that made him the standout actor. Most of the other actors were East Indian and really made the movie feel authentic.
Being that this movie was based on Marianne Pearl's own words you can tell this is as close to the truth that you would get to this story. It would have been hell to have gone through what she did and with the interviews she did about this it didn't look as if she has lost a husband at all, she was one strong person, and to be going through all of that while being pregnant would have been that much worse, my condolences go out to her and anyone else effected by this event.
How Are The Extras?
There are about 3 different features on the DVD a Daniel Pearl Foundation PSA which talks about the foundation that was started up after his passing, Also there is a 8 minute feature about protecting journalists which was kinda slow, but the main feature was the 30 minute making of a mighty heart which was one of the better making of's i've seen in a while on a dvd.
Final Words
There aren't too many true stories I would recommend to people but now I have another one to add to the this, this movie pulled it off really well and haven't had a movie that effected me since United 93 (which to me is the saddest movie ever made). Definitely check this one out if you are interested on the events that took place or are looking for an informative movie about those events.
Movie 7/10
DVD 3/5
Alright so there you have the first week of James Sparrow's Rented Reviews. I'll be picking up some more today seeing as how I have to get them ready at work and then tomorrow I do go out of town till Saturday but I'll post some reviews then.
EDIT:
I HAVE UPDATED THE 1ST POST WITH THE NEW MOVIES!
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have a nice time away 
