Access Blogs
A 'Mighty' Performance
by Eugene Monzon, Jr., Access film researcher
Sound the trumpets. Oscar season has begun.
True, we are only at the halfway mark in the 2007 film season. But I doubt that the names of Hilary Swank (Freedom Writers & The Reaping), Halle Berry (Perfect Stranger) and Diane Keaton (Because I Said So) will be called out on January 22, Oscar nomination morning. However, one name I would bet on (that is if I was a betting man) would be Best Supporting Actress winner Angelina Jolie.
The other night I watched A Mighty Heart (opens June 22), in which Angelina plays 5-months-pregnant journalist Mariane Pearl, wife of slain Wall Street Journal correspondent Daniel Pearl. Ms. Jolie gives one of her best performances in a long time.
In the film, directed by Michael Winterbottom (Code 46) and produced by Brad Pitt, we see the trials and tribulations that Mariane goes through in order to try and find her missing husband.
The movie takes the audience into the maddening world that Mariane was living in and that we were not privy to. I myself was only really aware of who Daniel Pearl was through my local news, and even then the information given to the general public was not enough for us to imagine the hardships Mariane endured.
And it is through those struggles that we, the audience, begin to sympathize and empathize with her plight. With Angelina’s strong performance as Mariane we see the love and hope she holds on to – so much so that there were scenes in the film that just broke my heart.
This performance should guarantee Angelina the Best Actress Oscar come February 24 and solidify her as one of the greatest actors of our generation.
But could someone still out-perform her? Sure, with six months left in the year and with films from Julia Roberts (Charlie Wilson’s War), Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age) and several others on the horizon, anything is possible.
Billy- no offense, but as much as i like
you, I'm boycotting "A Mighty Heart."
I will not go see a homewreaker who is going to portray
a woman who was true to her gender,
and who would NEVER THINK OF ENTICING MARRIED MEN AWAY FROM THEIR WIFES.
As much as I feel for Marianne Pearl and for
the horrific death of her husband Daniel,
I can't for the life of me understand why
she would want this "critter" to portray her?? It's a sham, and I for one will not
support her-moving on and all that!
I for one cannot wait to see Angelina in this movie. She's received support and approval from Marianne Pearl in her role here and I think it's a great testament to her talent that Marianne approves of what she, Michael Winterbottom and the rest of the cast and crew have done to bring Daniel and Marianne's story to life on our screens.