Jolie in her prime since winning the Oscar deserves another for her stoic, fierce portrait in courage

george.schmidt

A MIGHTY HEART (2007) ***1/2 Angelina Jolie, Dan Futterman, Archie Panjabi, Irfan Khan, Will Patton, Denis O' Hare. Absorbing, first-rate adaptation of the book based on Mariane Pearl's (Jolie, in her best work since she won the Oscar and deserving another nod here for her stoic, fierce performance), book about the horrible kidnapping and ultimate murder of her husband (and fellow journalist) Daniel (Futterman does his best in fleeting flashback heavy sequences) who was abducted by terrorists in Pakistan. Filmmaker Michael Winterbottom and screenwriter John Orloff eschew Hollywood theatrics for straightforward and intelligent with a very well produced storyline and a fine ensemble cast particularly Indian actor Khan as "the Captain", a local policeman spearheading the grim task of saving the doomed writer. One of the year's best films.

score 9/10

george.schmidt 27 June 2007

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1681854/