Critics Praise Angelina Jolie’s ‘Mighty’ Role

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt took Cannes by storm this week, when the super couple hit the south of France to premiere Angie’s new film, “A Mighty Heart.”

And if the early reviews are any indication, it looks like Oscar’s first contender has been found.

Critics are praising Angelina’s portrayal of Mariane Pearl, the widow of slain Wall Street Journalist Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan in 2002.

“Angelina Jolie delivers a well-measured and moving performance,” says the Hollywood Reporter, adding she “plays her with respect and a firm grasp on a difficult accent influenced by France and Cuba. She has a powerful scene in which she lets out a shriek of grief that will be recognized wherever people suffer from terror and loss.”

The film, directed by Michael Winterbottom, the film is based on Mariane’s memoir after her husband’s death “A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband Daniel Pearl.”

Co-starring Dan Futterman, Irfan Khan, Adnan Siddiqui, Alyy Khan, and co-produced by Brad Pitt, “A Mighty Heart” is very much Mariane’s story as carried out by Angelina.

Jolie “fits comfortably into the naturalistic mold that shapes the entire ensemble” says Variety. “This isn’t the sort of commanding star turn in which the performer vanishes behind a well-known celebrity mask, but rather a subdued, carefully considered portrait of a woman caught between premature grief and persistent hope.”

Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush attended the “Mighty Heart” press conference in Cannes, where Angelina, Brad and the rest of the film’s cast and crew were joined by Mariane on the panel.

Billy asked Angelina what it was like to step into the difficult role.

“Angelina, Mariane said that she trusted you. Was there a moment when you felt you had got that validation from her or did you know inside you had nailed it?” Billy asked.
“I did finally speak to her days after she saw it and she told me it was all right,” Jolie revealed. “I was very nervous and didn’t know if I could do it at all. So for her to tell that it was done right, I can’t tell you how much that means to me.”

“A Mighty Heart” hits theaters June 22.