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Angelina Jolie plays Mariane Pearl in A Mighty Heart.
FOREIGN POLICY: Danny Pearl’s murder is so often discussed in the context of Islamic terrorism. Yet Mariane did a great job of suggesting in her book that yes, it’s about Islamic terrorism and the post-9/11 environment, but what it is really about is the lack of connections and dialogue.
Angelina Jolie: I agree. The reality is that, as hard as we try, we’ll never get as close to the beauty of her book and her real voice. Her voice at this moment is so important because she is somebody who, when confronted by such brutality and terrorism, somehow kept clear and was able to see the bigger picture. She didn’t jump to fear and hate, with good guys and bad guys. There are victims on both sides of conflict. She understood that she had to fight for the future of her son. Hopefully, the movie will inspire people to go get the book.
There is a clear choice she makes for herself and for her son: not to be terrorized. She has a way of dealing with [her husband’s murder] that is extraordinary. And it was extraordinary the first time I saw her being interviewed on CNN years ago and thought, who is that woman? And how can she—days after her husband was killed in such a horrible way—what is it that makes her able to say, “Ten other people died this month and they were all Pakistani and they’re suffering as much as we are?”
FP: When people walk out of the cinema after having seen A Mighty Heart, what’s the feeling you’d like them to walk away with?
AJ: I think it will speak to many different people, I assume in a different way, depending on where you’re coming from. There is so much fear being thrown out there and aggression and talk of terrorism. We don’t understand all the details, and we’re not focusing on understanding the history of situations.
FP: Was Mariane ever on the set?
AJ: No. Anytime I wanted to ask her a question about the movie, I couldn’t find her, because she was often doing her journalism around the world and focusing on women’s issues. She never came to set. If I ever could ever email her or get any conversation going, it was as if a film wasn’t happening. She would email about a great woman she met running an NGO in Cambodia and something about the kids. I think she had to kind of trust that it was in the right hands, with the right people. And she also, I don’t think, could come near the set because it was recreations of things that would have been too difficult for her.
FP: Mariane said that at length when we spoke earlier. She hadn’t wanted to make a movie, and it was very strange for her to see it on the screen. But she did feel that it was a great group of people that she could trust.
AJ: Which made us all very nervous. When you get trust from a woman like Mariane for something like that, you just think, “Oh, no.”
FP: You have been a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations for several years, helping to raise awareness to the plight of the world’s refugees. Do you feel the advocacy work that you do influences the projects you choose?
AJ: Sometimes. Right now, I’m doing a very wild action movie, playing an assassin. Mind you, I am killing people who are going to kill other people, so I somehow consider that fine. But I’m an entertainer and I’ve got kids. It’s like Mariane: She’s a very serious, very intelligent woman. She’s a well-traveled, deep-thinking woman. But she’s also got one of the driest, funniest senses of humor. She can be really goofy. And she can be wild and fun, and the most exciting person at the party. And she’s a sexy woman, too. So yes, with films, I’ll do serious films, but I’ll want to jump around and be physical.
Angelina Jolie is an Academy Award-winning actress. A Mighty Heart is in theaters June 22.
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