A Mighty Heart

One of the more heartbreaking post 9/11 events gets a moving treatment from the talented director Michael Winterbottom. Angelina Jolie, in one of the best performances of her career, plays Mariane Pearl, wife of slain journalist Daniel Pearl, who was beheaded in Pakistan after being kidnapped in early 2002. The film, told in a documentary style similar to United 93, doesn’t feel exploitive or trite. It details the tortures that a pregnant Mariane Pearl, her family and friends went through as they tried to locate their loved one, only to see the worst of endings. Dan Futterman, in just a few scenes, creates a memorable depiction of Daniel, a dedicated journalist who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. If you are in the camp that thinks Jolie can’t act, this one will take you by surprise. She is a lock for Oscar consideration. A difficult subject and a rewarding film.