Michael Winterbottom has visited similar terrain previously in Welcome to Sarajevo (about journalists at the beginning of the Bosnian war) and The Road to Guantanamo, but this film lacks their substance, instead concentrating on creating a sense of chaos through fast cutting MTV style cinematography and on subduing Jolie's star presence into her character—an exotic look to pass as a Cuban-African Buddhist, an effective French accent, and make-up artistry for advanced pregnancy. What everyone will remember most, however, is Jolie's eventual primal scream that runs uncomfortably long, with a much more bearable reprise accompanying her son's birth. It's the stuff that attracts film journalists and creates early Oscar buzz.

Adapting Marianne Pearl's memoir, Winterbottom covers an event that attracted widespread media attention less than a year after 9/11. Working as journalists for the the Wall Street Journal in Karachi, Pakistan, Daniel Pearl was following up on a lead about thwarted shoe bomber Richard Reid when he got into a cab on January 23, 2002. He never returned.

Chronicling the five-week search for Pearl's whereabouts and his kidnappers, Winterbottom creates intensity with the pacing and crime drama structure. But given the well known outcome, the intended suspense just isn't there (the only real suspense resting on whether the final denouement displayed on the Internet will be included). We know that all will end badly, so we instead expect additional insights into the characters of the participants or into the socio-political situation. That is where Winterbottom falls short. He offers cliches and glossy coverage.

He does create an impressionistic atmosphere of chaos. Marianne describes Karachi as a place with "so many people, no one knows how to count them. How do you find one man among all these?" Winterbottom juxtaposes frenzied shots of the jumbled mass of humanity to make sure you get the point.

While cutting to police interrogations that lead nowhere or through a labyrinth of possible terrorists, the primary focus remains on Marianne (Jolie) inside her compound. Anxiously waiting for her husband (Dan Futterman) to return, she conjures images of Penelope waiting for Odysseus. Instead of weaving she uses her journalism skills and Googling skills to piece together scary information about the terrorist network involved. Mixed in are heartwarming flashbacks from happier days of marital bliss.

Of course, it's practical for Marianne to remain cloistered, considering her pregnancy and further threats posed by jihadist terrorists. She is surrounded by colleagues and other supporters who serve as a surrogate "family" during her ordeal. Among them: Indian journalist Asra Nomani (Archie Panjabi), Wall Street Journal managing editor John Bussey (Denis O'Hare), and American diplomat Randall Bennett (Will Patton), who consistently puts a positive spin on the news. (Isn't that part of the job description?) These people help build a fortress around Marianne, who courageously endures the tragedy.

It's primarily her story, and Winterbottom does credibly cover it with broad brush strokes. Due to Jolie, the film will get plenty of attention, but just like a typical media story—that will soon fade away because it lacks the depth that make viewers want to return. Why should such a film even be made? Perhaps, the answer lies in the final dedication—that it's for Daniel Pearl's son, Adam. A Mighty Heart works in that vein effectively, expressing a romantic view of journalism—the sacrifice that sometimes becomes necessary while pursuing the truth.