Angelina Jolie At Her Cinematic Best

Angelina Jolie Movies

Probably one of the most beautiful women to grace Hollywood, Angelina Jolie is a woman of substance.

She is an outstanding actress, a great humanitarian, promotes various causes like conservation, women’s rights and education. Jolie is also an envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for championing the causes of refugees.

Jolie has battled many personal crises in her life, starting with her rocky relationship with her father, actor Jon Voight. She was suicidal when young and sometimes restored to bizarre behaviour.

Here are five films which will make you realise how good an actress Jolie is:

Girl, Interrupted (1999)

Girl, Interrupted (1999)Cast: Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Elisabeth Moss, Brittany Murphy, Vanessa Redgrave, Whoopie Goldberg
Director: Michael Mangold

A mental institution is the background to a tale of a young borderline personality disorder patient Suzanna (Ryder) and a vicious sociopath Lisa (Jolie), who befriends her and then plays with feelings.

This plot plays around other sub-plots involving more patients in the institution, as Lisa tries to disrupt everything. Her complexities and cunning use of them causes problems for the others.

Suzanna is finally discharged but before that she confronts Liza with the truth, hoping it will finally change her. Jolie has handled this complex role with great acting and she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Gia (1998)

Gia (1998)Cast: Angelina Jolie, Faye Dunaway, Mercedes Ruehl, Elizabeth Mitchell
Director: Michael Cristofer

A Philadelphian girl Gia (Jolie) moves to New York City to become a fashion model. A top modelling agent Wilhemina Cooper (Dunaway) sees her talent and mentors her into a top model.

However, her loneliness drives her to experimental drugs like cocaine and she becomes an addict. She also has a relationship with fellow model Linda (Mitchell) who later gives her an ultimatum to stop her deadly habit.

But Gia’s drug use ends in tragedy as she contracts AIDS due to her substance use. Jolie is wonderful in this movie, particularly handling the mood swings well.

A Mighty Heart (2007)

A Mighty Heart (2007)Cast: Angelina Jolie, David Futterman, will Patton, Irrfan Khan, Adnan Siddique
Director: Michael Winterbottom

The film is based on the true story of the kidnapping of US reporter Daniel Pearl by terrorists in Karachi and later beheaded.

After Daniel doesn’t return, his pregnant wife Mariane (Jolie) is determined to search for her husband. Mariane faces lots of problems as the local police and US agencies launch a search.

But Mariane remains firm until the bitter revelation. The film won critical acclaim.

Changeling (2008)

Changeling (2008)

Cast: Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich
Director: Clint Eastwood

Another classic movie from the Eastwood stable, this film deals with the trauma of a Los Angeles woman who returns home to find her nine-year-old son missing.

Against the backdrop of political corruption, police brutality and mistreatment of mental patients, Christine (Jolie) battles hard but to no avail. The police thrust her with a boy claiming to her son. But he is shorter and she refuses to believe them.

Christine is then sent to the mental hospital, claiming she is delusional. Nobody is sure whether Walter was killed but Christine is cleared and she continues her search.

Salt (2010)

Salt (2010)Cast: Angelina Jolie, Liev Schrieber, Chiwetel Ejiofor, August Diehl
Director: Philip Noyce

Evelyn Salt (Jolie) is accused of being a Russian sleeper agent who is on the run to clear her name. She is first imprisoned in North Korea for being a suspected US agent but she is released in a prisoner swap after her to-be husband exerts pressure.

She later admits she is a CIA agent. Then mores suspicious activity is reported as the Russian President is killed. Nuclear weapons, double-crossing and other ingredients of spy films are thrown in.

The film was a box-office hit and Jolie looks absolutely stunning.

~~

#The views expressed here are those of the columnist and Pune365 does not necessarily subscribe to them.

Babu Kalyanpur
Latest posts by Babu Kalyanpur (see all)