That many women dislike Angelina Jolie is obvious, but you would hope that newspapers could reign in their dislike in the coverage that followed her supposed ‘split’ from Brad Pitt in the last week.
Writing in The Independent – where one would expect bile, if not opinion, to be checked – Amy Jenkins claims, possibly at the behest of an editor, that the actress has ‘arguably never made a good film’. You wonder if a sub inserted the ‘arguably’ as this is simply untrue. While she may not be the best thing about Clint Eastwood’s magnificent Changeling, Jolie is undoubtedly very good as its lead. She gave an even more remarkable performance in the real-life tale A Mighty Heart, a role that it was impressive simply to be able to play. First, it involved a kind of blacking up – always a PR hill to climb. Second, a huge, high profile celebrity is always going to seem inappropriate for a story of such gravity. That she carried it off at all is a testament to her skill at convincing you she should and can, which is a key part of the actor’s craft whichever way you spin it. (Even leaving aside her Oscar for Girl, Interrupted.)
If the target was movies such as Tomb Raider, then – frankly – who cares? Genre movies have their place, and stand as an issue apart from issues of ‘art’. To consider them ‘good’ or ‘bad’ films outside their genre on the basis or artistic prejudice is unfair and has more to do with snobbery than anything else.
Leaving all that aside, the ‘split’ seems to be a popular fiction, at least according to TMZ – who are usually to be regarded as close to gospel in these things.
News hour, with Jerry Caesar 