The poster of this says, “This is the story you haven’t heard.” Hmm. Yeh – unless of course you’ve read the book by Daniel Pearl’s wife that it’s based on, I guess. Even if you haven’t, I don’t think there’s a lot here that couldn’t be inferred by the basics of the story. Your husband goes missing in the most dangerous part of the world right now, how exactly are you gonna react?

I considered trying like so many have not to sound insensitive in this review, to glow enough about Angelina Jolie’s performance that I don’t have to worry about the lack of comment on the rest of the movie. I decided, hopefully those who know me already will know I’m sensitive about stuff like this, and hopefully those who don’t know me that care about whether a person is sensitive about such things will attempt to get to know me.

In short, it’s not that great a movie. I was swung as most everyone else by Jolie’s performance in the end – though I’m still a little skeptical that the nonetheless emotionally affecting “screaming in a room” scene is really worthy of an Oscar nod – but like the last Michael Winterbottom movie I saw before the only slightly better Cock and Bull Story, Code 46, this is ultimately so “authentically” procedural it’s painful (and not in a good way).

Hmm, now, what was I saying about movies that look better than they actually are? At least I knew what to expect here, the reviews I’ve read have been pretty unanimous – in fact, in some cases, I’m sure they might even be identical to I’m Not There reviews … it looks gorgeous, and Cate Blanchett is magnificent, lol.

And mine might be so too. ‘Cos while the beautiful set and costume designs etc carried me easily through the first hour, I knew I might struggle as it entered its second half. But it’s right there, following the assassination attempt, that I found myself irresistibly drawn to the story. It’s also there of course that it begins to become the Pirates of the Caribbean-a-like Duran Duran music video that Mark Kermode so relished shouting about on Five Live earlier in the year. It was all that ranting, in fact, that made me quite excited about seeing it. It kinda reminded me of that insane last half hour of Hot Fuzz, really – like, if you’re gonna run to 2 hours, all the while promising a storm, you can do worse than delivering it in the last 30 minutes.

A movie like this really needs to deliver a surprise like that (unless it’s just good – just to acknowledge the exceptions :P) to hold me for 2 hours. It’s not enough to make a larger-budgeted, flatly-told, historically accurate TV drama. Yes, it’s a shame those TV things can’t have the costume and sets as here, but that doesn’t mean that once that budget’s available, one should simply do the “same but bigger”. The cinema demands much much more.

I’m glad to say, this gives exactly that in the end. Leave the accuracy to books and television. This gives us the glory and bombast that sparks the interest in the details, and in these ADD times I can’t think of anything more important in a period film. The final shot of her dress blowing about her over a map of Europe is just astonishing. Almost makes me want to pick up a history book.