One from the heart

Playing Mariane Pearl was the most difficult role of Angelina Jolie8217;s career

If you believe the tabloid media, or even if you don8217;t, Angelina Jolie hasn8217;t lacked for experiences in her life. But her relationship with Mariane Pearl, widow of murdered Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, brought her into contact with something completely new.

8220;It8217;s the first time,8221; the actress says, an indefinable expression crossing a face so striking it can be difficult to look at straight on, 8220;I8217;ve had a friendship with a journalist.8221;

A Mighty Heart, the Michael Winterbottom-directed film about Pearls8217; story, sees Jolie in a forceful, immediate performance as Mariane Pearl. Jolie8217;s friendship with Pearl, as it turns out, considerably predates the film. 8220;Like most people in the world, I assumed Danny would be returned,8221; she remembers of Pearl8217;s 2002 kidnapping and execution in Pakistan. 8220;When he wasn8217;t, I was moved by Mariane8217;s strength, I was shocked by it. To be able to speak about her love for that country, I didn8217;t think I could have done it.8221;

United by an interest in Buddhism and motherhood, the women scheduled 8220;a play date8221; and a friendship began. When Pearl8217;s autobiographical book came out and Brad Pitt8217;s production company became the producer, 8220;it was Mariane who happened to mention me to him,8221; Jolie says.

At that point, the future romantic companions 8220;were just getting to know each other as friends.8221; 8220;My fear,8221; she says, 8220;was whether we could find any possible way to do this and make it feel close, make it feel real. 8220;

One of the curious places where Pearl8217;s story connects with Jolie8217;s are the moments when both have had to deal with hordes of insistent journalists camping out at their front door. 8220;It did feel familiar,8221; Jolie admits, adding 8220;but I have no idea what it feels like to go through it when your husband has been taken or killed. And when you8217;ve never seen it before.8221;

Asked about her methods of coping with the media madness that follows, Jolie gestures toward a small building on the hotel grounds. 8220;I8217;ve got four kids, and there it8217;s quiet, peaceful,8221; she says. 8220;I focus on all the luck I have. We she and Pitt have a full life, they keep us well distracted.8221;

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There are even more connections between Jolie8217;s life and Mariane Pearl8217;s. The actress relates that one of the last scenes in A Mighty Heart, Mariane8217;s first TV interview after Daniel8217;s death, ended up being shot in the US. 8220;By some strange twist,8221; she says, 8220;my mother passed away just before we shot that. It was such a great reminder of Mariane8217;s strength and how lucky I was to have had all those years with my mother. When I went on set, everyone was saying 8216;I8217;m so sorry for your loss8217; to me, and then they were saying the same thing to me as Mariane in the scene. It was really strange.8221;
Kenneth Turan LAT-WP