Written by: Dominick at 11:39 pm
Filed under: Movies
One of the most controversial films to be released this year was A Mighty Heart. It wasn’t that the material presented in the film was necessarily controversial. However, the fact that the lead actress in the movie was Angelina Jolie made more than a few heads turn. Jolie, who is actually a superb actress when given the right role, didn’t fit the “ethnic” and “racial” profile of the character she was playing so many people boycotted this movie without even attempting to see it.
I don’t understand how people can judge an entire movie by something they believe is racist, when the movie is about a woman who did not see people by race, religion or any other label. It just seems rather selfish of those who wish to complain without giving the film a chance. Mariane Pearl herself, whose memoir A Mighty Heart was based on, gave her blessing for Jolie to play the role. The two are now very close friends and Pearl has praised Jolie’s performance. Jolie played a woman with relatively light skin so the transformation wasn’t that drastic nor did it involve excessive amounts of makeup. Jolie’s skin tone looks natural, as though she might have been out in the sun for a while, and was non-offensive. There were many comments about Jolie playing the Afro-Cuban and Dutch Pearl in black face. Not only are those comments disgusting, they are lies and do not speak of the quality performances that make A Mighty Heart such a good film.
Release Information:
A Mighty Heart originally debuted in theaters on June 22, 2007. The HD and standard DVD editions were both released by Paramount Home Entertainment in October. This specific version of the movie, which was compressed in an HD format, was released on October 16, 2007. You can purchase both versions of A Mighty Heart at most local and online retailers. The Amazon retail price for this movie in HD is $27.95 USD.
A Mighty Heart Plot:
A Mighty Heart tells the true story of the nine days Mariane Pearl’s husband, Daniel (Dan Futterman) was missing in Pakistan. Daniel, an American reporter who worked for the Wall Street Journal, disappeared during the evening when he was supposed to have his last interview before leaving Pakistan. He was to meet with a man who was believed to have links with terrorist organizations so when he did not come home, and Mariane (played by Angelina Jolie) could not get through to his cell phone (he had promised to call her and told her to leave her phone on) she immediately knew something was wrong. The movie follows the last few minutes leading up to when Daniel was supposed to meet with his contact, and also what Mariane did during the day and evening of his disappearance.
From there, A Mighty Heart follows what steps Mariane took to contact someone who could help her find Daniel. The manhunt for her husband involved U.S. intelligence organizations, the Pakistani police, and Wall Street Journal reporters. Throughout the ordeal, Wall Street Journal correspondent and Pearl family friend, Asra Q. Nomani (Archie Panjabi) stayed with Mariane, who was six months pregnant at the time. While the story follows what Mariane went through during this very trying time in her life, it also follows the investigation and what the investigators did in an attempt to try and find Daniel. This story was dedicated to Daniel and Mariane’s son, Adam, who never got the chance to know his father. While the fate of Daniel Pearl was known and felt by most of the world, A Mighty Heart presents information not necessarily known by the general public and things not told by the media. It also gives a first hand look into this part of the world and the dangers that are faced there.
Daniel was the only American kidnapped that month, but several Pakistanis had been kidnapped as well, and their families were suffering, too. In the movie, Mariane notes this, and I believe this speaks volumes about her character as not only a woman, but as a compassionate human being. Daniel was killed because he was Jewish, which just stresses further how widespread religious oppression really is. While this movie isn’t necessarily the easiest film to watch, it is a necessary film and it is a sometimes enjoyable, sometimes awkward, sometimes heart wrenching and always emotional experience.
The film was directed by Michael Winterbottom (Wonderland, A Cock and Bull Story, The Road to Guantanamo). Winterbottom wanted the audience to be in the moment so he shot with natural light and handheld cameras. While some have complained that this makes the film seem amateurish in appearance, I don’t believe that it affected the quality of the film. You can find out more about the quality of the picture in the Audio/Visual section of this review. Despite the fact that the story was already well known by most of the audience of the movie, Winterbottom and the cast of A Mighty Heart were able to maintain a sense of suspense throughout the film that kept it both interesting and engaging.
Audio/Visual:
This is the HD version of A Mighty Heart. That means that the quality of this DVD is on par with the quality you will see in a movie theater. I though the quality of this movie was great. Despite the handheld camera usage, which didn’t bother me as much as it did other reviewers I’ve read, the film remains true to its quality in the movie theaters. However, that being said, don’t expect the same quality as something like The Transformers, which deserves an award for its stunning, HD visual quality.
Fans of this kind of HD superiority might be slightly disappointed. Still, it doesn’t take away from the quality of the film. A Mighty Heart is presented in 1080p and was compressed to DVD with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. I wasn’t as bothered by this movie as I know others were. If you worry about the quality, but still want the movie, you can always purchase the standard version of A Mighty Heart, which still has great quality, but it is less expensive.
The audio was excellent, especially on my HD, big screen television set. With the surround sound built into my television and the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound I didn’t have any trouble hearing anything. While this isn’t a movie that is full of action, the suspense can be heard in the audio that is available. I honestly believe those who complain about the audio for A Mighty Heart HD are just trying to find something to complain about. You shouldn’t have any problem with this audio whatsoever.
Special Features:
When it comes to extras, you will find everything that is available on the standard edition of A Mighty Heart on the HD version of A Mighty Heart. There is a 30 minute featurette entitled, “Journey of Passion”. This featurette takes a look at the behind the scenes effort of recreating this movie. The cast and crew wanted to make A Mighty Heart as true to Mariane Pearl’s memoir as they possibly could. This documentary is very complimentary and speaks of her influence not only on the creation of the movie, but also the performances in the film. There is also a featurette called the “Committee to Protect Journalists”. This feature is almost ten minutes long and it discusses the protections journalists have abroad, how many journalists have been killed doing their job over the years, and what can be done to prevent these deaths.
There is also a PSA from Christiane Amanpour, a correspondent for CNN, who is on the board of the Daniel Pearl Foundation. This foundation was started by Daniel’s parents and family to honor his memory by supporting his vision for understanding across cultures in order to eliminate hatred, discrimination, and prejudice. The final extra is the trailer for A Mighty Heart.
Bottom Line:
A Mighty Heart is a great movie. I enjoyed the HD version of this film and believe that those with HD players will, as well. My advice is not to judge this movie by what the rumor mill is saying or some pre-conceived conceptions you have of this movie. See it for yourself. Make your own opinion. Trust in Mariane Pearl that she made the right decision in allowing Angelina Jolie to portray her (the performance by Jolie is chilling and Oscar worthy). This is one movie you need to see. It tells the story of a man that faced pure evil and hatred and still thought of his wife and child, who would someday see the videotape showing his death. Daniel Pearl was a brave man. He wasn’t a hero. He wasn’t a martyr. He was just a man and he was loved and will be remembered. The film A Mighty Heart truly makes that clear.
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Technorati Tags: DVD Review, HD, A Mighty Heart, Mariane Pearl, Daniel Pearl, Journalist killed, Angelina Jolie, Pakistan
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Written by Dominick - Visit Website
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Dominick Evans is in his late 20's. He spends his days working as a full time writer/editor and a part time musician/composer. His passions in life include music, directing films, watching movies, reading books, watching sports, wheelchair football, politics and spending time with his family (fiancée Ashtyn, son Robert, and shih-tzu Oliver). Other interests include being an advocate for the disability and GLBT communities.
