A MIGHTY HEART (USA/UK, 2007). Wednesday, 1st October 2008A MIGHTY HEART
USA/UK, 2007. Directed by Michael Winterbottom
from a screenplay by John Orloff based on the book by Mariane Pearl.
Photography (‘Scope/colour): Marcel Zyskind. Music: Molly Nyman and Harry Escott.
Certificate: “15”.Length: 108 minutes.
Leading Players: ANGELINA JOLIE (Mariane Pearl), DAN FUTTERMAN (Daniel Pearl),
IRRFAN KHAN (Javed Nabib, ‘Captain’), DENIS O’HARE (John Bussey),
ARCHIE PANJABI (Asra Nomani), WILL PATTON (Randall Bennett),
DAUD KHAN (Masud), ALYY KHAN (Bashir), IKRAM BHATTI (Sheikh Gilani).
It’s not an insignificant fact that one of the three producers of A Mighty Heart is Brad Pitt. It was his production company Plan B Entertainment that acquired the rights to the memoir that Mariane Pearl, widow of the murdered journalist Daniel Pearl, co-wrote with Sarah Crichton. The company’s president Dede Gardner (the second of the three producers) has said that Pitt’s interest in the book was inspired by Mariane’s tremendous courage and by the way in which she shared her story. One can well believe that since the producers consciously chose to involve her in their planned film. They sought her input and approval and discussed with her who might be approached to direct it. However, that would not be inconsistent with the possibility that Pitt’s enthusiasm was also aroused by the fact that this film might be one to provide a role for his partner Angelina Jolie that would prove that she had real acting ability well beyond what was suggested by some of the glossy Hollywood movies that she has made.
It was in fact Gardner who first thought of the British film-maker Michael Winterbottom for this project and in due course he was summoned to meet Mariane Pearl. Later he was invited to meet Brad and Angelina. Thus it came about that we have what sounds like an unlikely joint venture: Angelina Jolie starring in a Michael Winterbottom film. One has to recognise that it might have turned out disastrously, and it is true that the movie was not a hit commercially (this is its first Eastbourne presentation) but, as it has turned out, the finished product is a great credit to both of them.
Despite Winterbottom having come into the picture in this way, the fact is that if you remove Angelina Jolie from the equation A Mighty Heart is very much the kind of film you might expect from this director. He is, of course, a film-maker with an extraordinarily wide range of material to his name. His films extend from Hardy adaptations such as Jude to contemporary dramas like Butterfly Kiss and Wonderland and from the totally serious explicit sex drama 9 Songs to his screen version of Laurence Sterne’s Tristam Shandy. Nevertheless concern over social and political issues on a far from parochial basis provides the link between such films as Welcome to Sarajevo (1996), In This World (2003) and The Road to Guantanamo (2006). It is within this category that A Mighty Heart belongs and it is to the credit of Plan B Entertainment that having once chosen Winterbottom for their project they appear to have given him a free hand. Thus the third producer is Winterbottom’s regular associate Andrew Eaton and at least four of those involved in the film - photographer Marcel Zyskind, production designer Mark Digby, editor Peter Christelis and costume designer Charlotte Walter – are colleagues with whom Winterbottom has worked before.
The material here is clearly something to which Winterbottom responded whole-heartedly. The events recreated took place in January 2002. That was when the American journalist Danny Pearl (Dan Futterman) was in Karachi with his wife, Mariane (the role played by Angelina Jolie). Mariane was pregnant at the time and, although she too was a journalist, Daniel’s remit was entirely personal to him. He was preparing a piece for the Wall Street Journal about the shoebomber Richard Reid and was carrying our research in Pakistan for that purpose. He had reason to believe that an interview with the militant Sheikh Gulani (Ikram Bhatti) would be very much to the point and., elusive as the Sheikh was, a contact named Bashir (Alyy Khan) had assured Pearl that he could arrange a meeting. Danny duly set out but failed to return.
A Mighty Heart goes on to show how the authorities set about seeking to discover what had happened. This was done by the Pakistani police under the leadership of Javed Nabib (Irrfan Khan) but not without the need for much badgering by Mariane aided by an Indian friend of the Pearls, the journalist Asra Nomani (Archie Panjabi). If this were fiction, the story might be one of suspense as to the outcome, but that can’t be so here because most audiences will be aware that after days of tension as to the outcome hope came to an end with the ultimate shattering revelation that Pearl had been murdered by his kidnappers.
This is a film that holds our attention on at least three levels, of which the third is by far the most important. The first of these links with what I said when writing about The Edge of Heaven regarding the ability of films to capture the atmosphere of places we may not know. Winterbottom had already been to Pakistan for the filming of In This World, that moving study of illegal immigrants which proved so successful with our audience back in 2003. Returning now, he has created a film which conveys the bustle of the modern city that Karachi has become. That in its own right makes A Mighty Heart memorable, but the second level is also striking. The story of this investigation emphasises more than any other portrayal known to me the fact that we live in a technological age. The complexity of all this leaves us hanging on breathlessly as we try to follow an investigation that inevitably leads to many dead ends as every avenue to trace the missing man is followed up.
However, the third level is the crucial one for A Mighty Heart is a tribute to Danny Pearl as a man of integrity and courage. Dan Futterman who plays the role may have limited screen time but he is admirably cast to suggest these qualities. A fine supporting cast includes Irrfan Khan so impressive in both The Warrior and The Namesake playing the police captain and Angelina Jolie captures admirably the determination of a woman who, helped by her training as a journalist, keeps her emotions outwardly under control. By taking a strong role in what is being done to trace her husband she seeks to acknowledge her fears as little as possible. This is consequently no typical portrait of a distressed woman, but it is totally persuasive as Jolie plays it and the film’s authenticity is backed by the fact that both Mariane Pearl and the Indian journalist Asra Nomani were consultants. Ultimately the film goes beyond telling Danny Pearl’s story to celebrate what he believed in: the importance in this age of violence and terrorism of a meeting of minds and of keeping a discourse going. He saw this as a means of refusing to let hatred take over. The dedication which comes at the close is, I believe, the most moving moment in the entire film.
Selected filmography (titles underlined shown by the EFS):
Butterfly Kiss (1994); Jude (1995); Welcome to Sarajevo (1996); Wonderland (1999); The Claim (2001); 24 Hour Party People (2002); In This World (2002); Code 46 (2003); 9 Songs (2004); A Cock and Bull Story (2005); The Road to Guantanamo (2006); A Mighty Heart (2007).
“All the better for not being anything like your conventional Hollywood film”
- Derek Malcolm, Evening Standard.
“Powerful. The movie is ultimately affirmative.” – Philip French, The Observer.
“Far more compelling than ever seemed likely.” – Daily Telegraph.
Winner for Outstanding Performance at Santa Barbara Film Festival: Angelina Jolie.
Programme Note by Mansel Stimpson.
