MIT Lecture Series Committee

Rated R
100 minutes

A Mighty Heart (2007)

Prolific director Michael Winterbottom (24-Hour Party People) takes an unusual turn by helming A Mighty Heart--a studio picture starring none other than Angelina Jolie. Jolie stars as Mariane Pearl, the widow of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Daniel was kidnapped and executed in Pakistan in 2002, and Winterbottom's film centers on the frantic activities leading up to his death. Fellow journalist Mariane revs into action as soon as the disappearance of her husband is announced, calling on the FBI and experts in terrorism to help in the desperate search. With the media circling around the story like hawks, Mariane endures a very public display of grief, and her plight is perfectly captured by the unlikely alliance of Winterbottom and Jolie. The film was shot mostly in Karachi and uses locations that Daniel was known to have visited, adding a heady dose of authenticity to the proceedings. [www.rottentomatoes.com]

It's not easy to make a dramatic, tense movie when many in the audience already know the ending, but director Michael Winterbottom has created one of the most compelling and emotional movies you will see
      -- Willie Waffle, wafflemovies.com. Read this review.