Jiffest 2007: A Mighty Heart (2007)

This is strictly my personal opinion. But i think that A Mighty Heart (based on a true story) might be this year's most pretentious and overrated film. Care to correct me? Read on.

Meet Angelina Jolie who is now tried to act as Mariane Pearl, a dark skinned, half French - half Cuban, with curly brown hair, and an accent that well, doesn't freed her of her usual Jolie-ness. Not with that signature lips of her. Anyway, She is a journalist and with her husband, Daniel Pearl, a fellow journalist, they live in Pakistan to pursue interesting news. Mariane was pregnant and the entire film devoted to the event of Daniel kidnapping, and how Mariane, and several other people tried as they might to locate Danny. Thus, the title A Mighty Heart could easily refers to how our Mariane had a mighty heart while waiting any news whatsoever about Danny's whereabout.

However, i feel that the title itself was misleading. Tried as i might to look, i couldn't find any mighti-ness in Mariane's heart or in overall of the film. Ironically, somewhere in the film, where she did an interview with CNN, one of the crew commented that she doesn't look like one whose husband was missing for six weeks. Excatly the point. I found that the film spent mostly on Mariane's team's effort to locate Danny, piecing clues of Danny kidnappers rather than contemplating on Marine's emotional side or feelings that should entitled her to a definitive mighty heart as the title suggests. Further, i had an utter complete lack of interest to all the ordeals involved with the search for Danny kidnappers (probably becuase i know what would happen to Danny, but that's not really the case), most likely because the way Winterbottom chooses to present this film with a touch of semi-documentary flavor. It would seems to me that the filmmakers tried to spark a controversy, riding with the infamous event of 9-11, about how the Pakistani's Islam left-faction terrorrizing the foreigners, especially American. Well, i say, aren't we had too many of that kind of things already? I don't know about anyone, but i really really tired with these kind of films. Worse, the film constantly reminding us by playing the adzan scenes over and over again when jumping between scenes. Come on, we know already that Mariane is in Pakistan, that Mariane is amongst the muslims community, that inevitably she had a target's mark on her back simply because she's an American. You don't have to remind us every time, it grows tedious and boring quickly, you see. Alas, when i tried to return my attention to Mariane, i found nothing that could gave me more sympathy with her. Therefore, when the film reaches its conclusion and we had a treat of breakdown a la Mariane, to me, it was more agonizing and annoying than anything. Ah, probably it's just me, and probably i had seen too many films that day. But, i wouldn't stand corrected. I didn't like the film.

This film ultimately lengthen the list of Angelina Jolie's films that didn't amused me a bit. As much as i liked her as a person (since she is a humanitarian an all), i had never seen her worthy enough to mention as an actress. Oh, i do like to give her a chance. But, if you happen to know the film in which she performs moderately well, above average that is, let me know, i may haven't seen that film. I could see her as a vixen, a seductress, a youngsters with a passion, but as an average wife who had to deal with the anguish of not knowing the whereabouts of her beloved husband? From what i've seen in this film, i couldn't believe it.

When the film ends, i sit for a while at my seat while the lights brighten and the seats were emptied all around me, contemplating about why i didn't like the film. I may wanted to look deeper to search for forgotten clues that may changed my prespective on the film. However, I couldn't find any. So i sighed, get off of my seat, went to the men's room, and ad libbed what would now, become this very written words.