I would never argue that Naveen Andrews should portray a Dane. My understanding was that the racial and nationalistic context had been removed from that particular production, such as in some other modern reinterpretations of Shakespeare. Additionally, Hamlet is a fictional character in a play, allowing literary license. A Mighty Heart is ostensibly a film based on a true story. There is a huge difference. I still maintain it to be both callous and insensitive, and the people over at Racewire and other minority led publications seem to agree with me.

Here’s the thing about Ms. Jolie’s make-up: if she cannot play the role of Mariane using make-up to make her look more like the subject (a Dutch-Caribbean woman), then aren’t you also making a case for any South Asian actor to never be allowed play a role of, I don’t know, maybe “Othello” or “Hamlet”? Haven’t Indian and Indian-American actors worked hard to be considered for any role, regardless of their skin color? How would it be if I were Danish, and I see that Naveen Andrews has just signed on to play Hamlet for this summer’s Shakespeare in the Park, but I say “He’s not light enough to play a Dane!” That would be total BS, because who’s to say that Danes are only pale, blue eyed people. The majority are, but not all.

FYI, if you want to say more about the skin color issue, please do visit here.

On Angelina Jolie, it’s not that I have a huge dislike of her per se. I liked her a lot in Gia (though, given her own supposedly wild times when she was a teen and in her early 20s, I don’t know how much acting was involved).

It’s just that, at this point, given how huge she is, if she was so committed to the story being done and getting out there, why didn’t she co-produce the movie with Brad and look for an actor in Europe or Latin America to play the role? This way, she could have used her celebrity to promote the film, but let someone less distracting play the lead. The role could have been a launching pad for someone like, say, Thandi Newton. (But that would have made a pairing with Noah Wyle unlikely, given that they already acted together as a couple in ER.)

And I agree, the film is generally o.k., and as I said at the end, for people who haven’t read the book, sure, do go see it.

But if you followed the story as it unfolded 5 years ago, read the Mariane Pearl book, and/or the Levy book, then I don’t know how much more the film will add.

Yes, Irrfan is generally all around super. I’m still quite surprised to see him doing TV ads in India and shows like “Mano Ya Na Mano”.

Both he and Archie Panjabi were very interesting to talk to, both quite accessible and personable.

I liked the movie even though I’m generally weary about Movies that are ‘Just the facts’ recantation of events(like United 93) that are both certain and inevitable.

But Maria, I think your obvious dislike for Jolie(And I share this btw—she can be sooo irritating) is clouding your judgement about this film.Give it a chance—any way you look at it—It is well-acted and well-made.Sure it’s not as deep as the book but it’s still a good movie nevertheless.

Agree w/you on Irfan Khan—He is excellent and there could’ve been more of him.You never feel like he’s acting ‘for the west’(Unlike for e.g: Om Puri & Nasseruddin Shah when they’ve appeared in mainstream Hollywood films).He’s as natural as ever and delivers a calm and assured performance.