Angelina Jolie gives a strong performance as Mariane Pearl, whose reporter husband Danny was kidnapped in Karachi.
One day after 9/11, the Pearls fly to Pakistan. She's a journalist for French public radio, he's the South Asia bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal. Danny researches a story on shoebomber Richard Reid, investigating links between al-Qaeda and the Pakistani security forces. Then he vanishes. "There are so many people in this city," says Mariane. "How can you find just one?"
Even as her house fills with security wire-tappers and shadowy American intelligence agents, the heavily pregnant Mariane remains positive. It's a tribute to British director Michael Winterbottom that the ending seems occasionally in doubt. However, there are no uncertainties about who's the emotional anchor of this harrowing film.
Jolie delivers a remarkable performance, keeping her composure right until the heartbreaking finale.
A Mighty Heart is a Film programme that first aired in 2007 and has been classified a 15 certificate.
