Movie · 2007 · Drama, Thriller, History · 1h 48m · R · English
Curator score: 6.1/10 (29.1K ratings)
One woman dared to keep hope alive.
Overview
Based on Mariane Pearl's account of the terrifying and unforgettable story of her husband, Wall Street Journal reporter Danny Pearl's life and death.
Ratings
Curator score: 6.1/10
IMDb: 6.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 79%
Metacritic: 74
TMDB: 6.4/10
Director
Michael Winterbottom
Production
Plan B Entertainment, Revolution Films, Paramount Vantage
Cast
Angelina Jolie, Dan Futterman, Irrfan Khan, Archie Panjabi, Denis O'Hare, Harvesp Viraf Chiniwala, Azfar Ali, Jillian Armenante, Zachary Coffin, Demetri Goritsas, Mohammed Afzal, Mushtaq Khan, Daud Khan, Telal Saeed, Tipu Taheer, Sajid Hasan, Adnan Siddiqui, Alyy Khan, Will Patton, William Hoyland
Where to watch
Paramount Plus Essential
Curator Review
Verdict
A sober, journalistic thriller built around a strong central performance and a clear sense of urgency, but its procedural restraint and controversial casting choices make it more admirable than fully absorbing for many viewers.
Best for
viewers interested in War on Terror-era political dramas
fans of tense, fact-based journalism stories
audiences who prefer restrained, procedural storytelling
people drawn to performance-driven historical thrillers
Skip if
you want a fast-moving suspense thriller
you are sensitive to problematic casting and representation choices
you prefer emotionally expansive true-crime dramas
you dislike films that prioritize process over catharsis
Overview
A Mighty Heart is one of those post-9/11 dramas that wants to feel immediate, sober, and morally serious. Michael Winterbottom shoots it with a news-bulletin urgency, keeping the focus on the search for Danny Pearl and the widening panic around it rather than on melodrama or spectacle. That approach gives the film a grim credibility, even when the storytelling can feel deliberately dry.
Worth noting
Angelina Jolie is the film’s anchor: controlled, forceful, and often more interesting in restraint than in overt emotion. The supporting cast helps sell the procedural texture, and the movie’s best quality is its refusal to turn the story into a neat thriller with easy release. It stays uncomfortable, which is partly the point.
Bottom line
At the same time, the film is hard to discuss without acknowledging the casting controversy that shadows it. For some viewers that will be a deal-breaker; for others it will remain an unfortunate but unavoidable part of the film’s legacy. As a piece of war-on-terror cinema, it is serious and often effective, but also uneven and emotionally withholding.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Lee (0.5★) · 109 likes
Angelina Jolie did black face
blushcameron · 61 likes
its wild that they had angelina jolie literally do blackface in this movie and ive never heard anyone talk about it. i feel like i just unlocked the secret “hollywood stars doing blackface” bonus round
shookone (3★) · 41 likes
very much head-to-head with and counter draft to Winterbottoms Road to Guantanamo. the reenacted political position battle american imprisonment politics is met by this reconstructed Angelina Jolie starrer about the cruelties of terrorism. authenticity is what Winterbottom is after, editing like a crazed one news-style, CNN for the big screen, sober and tough to take in. Jolie gets her screen presence as omnipresent, rational alpha female.
of course the authenticity strategy has to be jinked eventually, at the latest when… more
Andy Summers 🤠 (3.5★) · 30 likes
Daniel Pearl was beheaded by cowards on the 1st February 2002 and his body cut up into ten pieces and buried in a shallow grave in Gadap. Killed because he was both Jewish and American, this film portrays the events leading up to his death.
When the Twin Towers in New York City were destroyed it changed the Western World's views on what terrorism really was, it was something that could touch anyone, anywhere.
A Mighty Heart is a film… more Daniel Pearl was beheaded by cowards on the 1st February 2002 and his body cut up into ten pieces and buried in a shallow grave in Gadap. Killed because he was both Jewish and American, this film portrays the events leading up to his death.
When the Twin Towers in New York City were destroyed it changed the Western World's views on what terrorism really was, it was something that could touch anyone, anywhere.
A Mighty Heart is a film… more
LynchFan02 (3★) · 27 likes
This film is alright, but it is honestly kinda boring...
Angelina Jolie's performance is incredible.