Review of A Mighty Heart (2007) by Justin A — 13 Mar 2009

A deeply powerful film that moves along with such an energetic pace that it nearly takes your breath away. The fact that I missed this in theatre's, and worse yet, the fact that in 2007 I ran this film as a projectionist at my own theatre -- well, I'm now regretting my decision to eventually see this on DVD. The pictures being thrown out on the screen would have been even more satisfying than watching it on my television out in the living room.

Everything had a perfect pitch. Every line delivered, every physical gesture molded by the actors were done with such ease and such fluidity that the film truly felt more like a docudrama [which it is, I'm aware of that. Some films say docudrama, but should be ashamed of that brand, because there is usually undeserved emotion] Where as "A Mighty Heart" sells it's overall emotion impact with it's complete detached quality from the Writer, from the Director, etc, etc, etc. Even when the director uses a lot of editing to tell you where to look, it doesn't ever feel forced. The photography even says realism [and more so than other films that are going for realism] The colors used, where the light is coming from is all very flush and real. Colors didn't at all feel enhanced to achieve something emotional. The colors at any given point of the day, under certain conditions; cloudy, sunny, rainy, etc were honestly represented. There was something very Michael Mann about the cinematography, but didn't rip off any of his signature style choices.

Angelina Jolie [Mariane Pearl] was a strong nervous wreck. One has to suspect that if her husband is gone and presumed dead, that her emotions would spill out and she would lose faith. She had hope, but not cheesy Hollywood Hope that would probably be in another film of this nature. She had a quiet hope. She didn't want to upset people with her honesty at all times. But even if her honesty were to pour out, the complexity of finding who's who [the people who kidnapped her husband] in this story is a never ending headache, and drives everyone insane. Who can you really trust?

There were moments of pure terror in this film. But never over the top, never graphic. The idea of "the unknown", the idea that the line of people responsible for this terrible act are many and they're spread all about is quite scary. This is/was one of the Best films of 2007. It's urgent filmmaking at its best.