TeenHollywood.com, June 22nd, 2007
A Mighty Heart outlines the events written in"A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband Danny Pearl" - a memoir by Mariane Pearl written for their son Adam about the ordinary man and hero his father was. Told through their own eyes, the film details the intense efforts by Marian Pearl and Danny's supporters to track Daniel's kidnappers and bring them to justice. These events shocked the world in 2002 and the film portrays the side of the story you've never heard.
Following the attacks of 9/11, Danny, on assignment with the Wall Street Journal, and Mariane trail a lead to Karachi, Pakistan where Danny was to interview an Islamic extremist in connection with would-be shoe bomber, Richard Reid. Getting in a cab and kissing his pregnant wife good-bye, Daniel would never return. Within days, Mariane learns that her husband has been abducted by a terrorist group who claims he is a Jewish spy for the CIA.
Her search, as the movie depicts, was a maze of emotions, dead leads, language barriers and countless interrogations that, in the end, couldn't save the life of the Journalist. Jolie does an amazing job portraying a grieving yet courageous woman devoted to her husband. The quick, hand-held cinematography adds to the raw reality and puzzling events surrounding this story - "How do you find one man in a city of millions?" Ultimately, this is a story of Mariane Pearl's hope and devotion to her principle; refusing to succumb to hate or fear, a principle many people have abandoned in the face of terrorism.
Warning: Rated R for Language and not suitable for all ages.
For a moving story carrying a heavy message...4 out of 5 stars.
