MOVIE REVIEW: ‘A Mighty Heart’

What's in a name? When the movie's called "A Mighty Heart," the answer is more -- and less -- than meets the eye.

Not that the problem's centered in the heart; "A Mighty Heart" not only has one, it wears it on its proverbial sleeve.

It's the brain where the movie's problems start.

More precisely, it's our brains -- or at least the part that clicks into gossip mode whenever we catch a glimpse of Angelina Jolie.

By now, the Oscar-winning tabloid queen is in the late stages of J-Lo syndrome, making it virtually impossible to watch her on-screen without thinking of her hardly private personal life, including megawatt significant other Brad Pitt (who serves as a producer on "A Mighty Heart"), their rainbow-coalition kids, their earnest attempts to Make a Difference ... .

In short, it's tough to watch "A Mighty Heart" and concentrate on the character Jolie plays rather than Jolie herself. Especially when the movie -- and the actress -- never quite bridge the gap between well-meaning dramatization and genuine dramatic tension.

But it's not all her fault. Especially not with director Michael Winterbottom ("The Road to Guantanamo") in full-throttle, hyperkinetic mode as he tries to capture the jittery uncertainties of post-Sept. 11 life. And, inevitably, the devastating consequences for journalists Daniel and Mariane Pearl.

It's January 2002 in Karachi, Pakistan. She's a freelance journalist, six months pregnant with their first child. He's the Wall Street Journal's South Asia bureau chief, hot on the trail of information on suspected "shoe bomber" Richard Reid's possible link to a militant Islamic cleric.

Initially, Mariane tries not to panic when Danny doesn't come home from a meeting with contacts who are supposed to introduce him to the cleric in question.

Instead, she takes solace in the warm presence of her dinner companions -- including her husband's colleague Asra Nomani ("Bend It Like Beckham's" Archie Panjabi).

As the night fades into morning and Danny still hasn't come home, however, Mariane contacts not only his editor back in New York ("Half Nelson's" Denis O'Hare) but the Pakistani authorities, led by an officer ("The Namesake's" quietly intense Irrfan Khan, in another standout performance) who launches an investigation into Danny's disappearance. A disappearance that ultimately turns out to be an abduction and murder.

As "A Mighty Heart" chunters along, screenwriter John Orloff (adapting Mariane Pearl's memoir) intercuts scenes of the search (with an outcome that, alas, is never in doubt) and Mariane's memories of happier times with her husband.

These flashbacks add undeniable poignancy -- and crucial context -- to a movie that could use a lot more of the latter.

For much of "A Mighty Heart," Mariane waits stoically while the Pakistani investigators, Danny's Wall Street Journal colleagues and even a canny U.S. diplomat (Will Patton) assist in the search. Winterbottom attempts to inject some tension with a nerve-jangling, rapid-fire visual approach, but there's only so much you can do to vary an essentially repetitive pattern.

More background information on Danny and Mariane's journalistic pursuits, chasing complex stories in perilous locales, would have deepened their characters. And, inevitably, heightened the irony of a journalist becoming the story -- and an irresistible draw for an international media circus.

Instead, "A Mighty Heart" maintains its focus on valiant Mariane, who suffers quietly, bravely -- at least until the movie's twin Oscar-bait interludes, during which Jolie shifts from heroic restraint to primal-scream overdrive, demonstrating that more is definitely less when it comes to emotional impact.

These carefully calibrated outbursts may come from her gut. Yet, somehow, we never feel the impact in ours.