'''A Mighty Heart''' is a
2007 film adaptation of
Mariane Pearl's
memoir, ''
A Mighty Heart''.
[1][2]
Story
''A Mighty Heart'' is a detailed account of the search for kidnapped ''
Wall Street Journal'' reporter
[3] Daniel Pearl in 2002.
Pearl was
kidnapped in
Karachi by supporters of
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed who claimed responsibility (and were later captured and convicted) for kidnapping and beheading Pearl in
2002. The movie also covers efforts by
Department of Justice and
Diplomatic Security Service special agents to track the kidnappers and bring them to justice.
For security reasons, the majority of the film, including all scenes with
Angelina Jolie was shot in
Pune,
Maharashtra,
India rather than in Pakistan. However many of the exteriors and all scenes involving the kidnapping, were shot at the real locations in Karachi with actor
Dan Futterman. The film's other Indian location was Mumbai, where Danny and Marianne lived. Flashback scenes were shot there. The film was also shot in France and Austin, Texas.
Released in
North America on
June 22,
2007,
the film has been reviewed by, among others, ''
Variety,''
[4] ''
Rolling Stone,''
[5] ''
Salon.com,''
[6] ''
Hollywood Reporter,''
[7] and ''
Entertainment Weekly.''
[8]
The film is
R rated.
Cast
Production
There have been some incidents involving the film's security detail and local residents of Pune. In one incident, an
Associated Press photographer was allegedly assaulted by
bodyguards and threatened with a
gun. In another, a security guard allegedly grabbed a
photographer by the throat outside of the hotel where Jolie and Pitt were staying. The most recent incident occurred in November 2006, at a school where bodyguards are accused of verbally abusing and assaulting parents who were picking up their children.
Paparazzi may have provoked the incident.
[9]
Criticism
Asra Nomani, a colleague
[10] of Danny Pearl who had agreed to participate in the film, stated that the film failed to portray Pearl in favor of creating a dramatic arc of "ordinary heroes," in reaction to which she believes Pearl would have "rolled his eyes." She described her reaction: "For me, watching the movie was like having people enter my home, rearrange the furniture and reprogram my memory."
Although the film has received overwhelmingly positive reviews, the movie was not well received by the African-American community due to its casting. Because of Pearl's
mixed ancestry, it has been perceived by some African-Americans that it was wrong for Angelina Jolie, a European-American actress, to be cast as Mariane Pearl. Pop culture critic
Orville Lloyd Douglas, in particular, has criticized the casting
[11] of Angelina Jolie in the role of Mariane Pearl because, he said, "Jolie is
white" and Mariane Pearl is "bi-racial." Douglas claimed that "there was an uproar by the
African American community," that Pearl has an "
ambivalence about her black heritage," and that although the real Mariane Pearl is not dark skinned, Jolie's portrayal is
blackface and an example of Hollywood discrimination against black actresses. In fact, Mariane Pearl is
multiracial: half
Dutch-Jewish, three eighths
Afro-Latino-Cuban and one eighth
Chinese Cuban.
[12]Awards and Praise
'''A Mighty Heart''' received the
'Truly Moving Picture Award' , as a film that celebrates the human condition and the positive aspects of life. According to them as a movie that ''can move you to laughter, to tears, to make a difference'' and ''offer heartfelt visions of life that are as hopeful as they are entertaining''. Source:
Heartland Truly Moving Pictures. The film was also nominated for a
Teen Choice Award for Best Movie Actress: Drama for Jolie's performance but lost to
Jennifer Hudson of
Dreamgirls. The film in general has received tremendously rave reviews from
Roger Ebert to
Larry King. Especially towards
Angelina Jolie's leading role. Some going so far as to say the actress is a shoe in for an
Academy Award for
Best Actress in a Leading Role.
References
1. Jolie and Pitt, with 'Heart'
2. Angelina Jolie and Mariane Pearl discuss 'A Mighty Heart'
3. 'WSJ' Editors Call 'A Mighty Heart' Fair and Accurate Joe Strupp
4.
A Mighty Heart: Cannes Film Festival Review
5.
A Mighty Heart
6.
Beyond the Multiplex Andrew O'Hehir
7.
Review: 'A Mighty Heart'
8.
Movie Review: A Mighty Heart
9. Jolie Says Pearl Film Is 'Very Real'
10. "A Mighty Shame" by Asra Q. Nomani, ''The Washington Post'' opinion, June 24, 2007
11. Shades of blackface
12. A Part Colored By History Teresa Wiltz
13. Collateral Damage
External links
★
★
Behind the Scenes Footage during various film shoots of A Mighty Heart
★
Angelina Jolie talks about the challenges of playing Mariane Pearl at MSNBC.com
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