74
Metascore
38 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversThe film belongs to Jolie. She won an Oscar for 1999's "Girl, Interrupted," but this is by far her best performance.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterRay BennettThe Hollywood ReporterRay BennettExpertly fashioned documentary-style drama.
- 80L.A. WeeklyElla TaylorL.A. WeeklyElla TaylorMichael Winterbottom has made an enormously moving document of the tense days between Pearl's capture and the news that he was dead.
- 70New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinNew York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinThe movie is clipped, blunt, and grimly realistic. It is practically a POLICIER , although the suspense is mitigated by our knowledge that the investigation will end badly.
- 70NewsweekDavid AnsenNewsweekDavid AnsenLike many of Winterbottom's movies, it falls a step short of its full potential. Its tact is both its strength and its weakness. The climax feels rushed: it's the rare movie these days that feels too short.
- 70The New YorkerAnthony LaneThe New YorkerAnthony LaneThe result, like many of Winterbottom's films, lies an inch short of disarray; we CAN keep pace with the investigation, but only just, and that sense of splintering honors the unpredictability of the setting.
- 70VarietyJustin ChangVarietyJustin ChangIn his first studio venture, Michael Winterbottom coaxes forth a staggering wealth of detail from this terse, methodical account of Pearl's kidnapping and murder in Pakistan.
- 67Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumDespite the best of intentions, an actress who makes her own headlines gets in the way of the big picture.
- 50Village VoiceJ. HobermanVillage VoiceJ. HobermanAngelina Jolie is the major alienation effect in A Mighty Heart, although she's not the only one. The hectic pizzazz with which hired gun Michael Winterbottom directs this tale of terrifying terrorism is another distraction.
- 50Austin ChronicleMarrit IngmanAustin ChronicleMarrit IngmanThe elliptical narrative also recalls Fernando Meirelles' somewhat similarly themed "The Constant Gardener," a film ultimately more heartfelt and accessible to mainstream audiences because its maker is unafraid of grief and explores it more deeply.