Born to actors Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand, Angelina Jolie was naturally drawn to the film industry from a very young age. She made her film debut alongside her father in Lookin’ to Get Out (1982), but properly started her career a decade later, starring in Cyborg 2. Jolie went on to become one of the highest-paid actresses in the industry, a very respected filmmaker, and an inspirational humanitarian. She has played the lead role in popular classics such as the Tomb Raider franchise, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and the action thriller Salt.
Jolie, as a director, made several war films and has often been inspired by her humanitarian work, bringing a social consciousness to her work. Her next film will be directing Salma Hayek and Demian Bichir in Without Blood, which, per Variety, will look at violence and trauma. It's more often than not that people largely focus on Jolie's most popular projects that helped her make a global name for herself, and, as such, totally dismiss the other movies that are worthy of attention. Here are a few forgotten Angelina Jolie movies that you should revisit.
Updated on September 30th, 2023, by Danilo Raúl: This article has been updated with additional content to keep the discussion fresh and relevant with even more information and new entries.
10 Without Evidence (1996)
You might be surprised at the many thrillers Angelina did early on in her career. Without Evidence is a film written and directed by Gill Dennis, with the assistance of Phil Stanford, that pairs Jolie with Anna Gunn and Scott Plank.
It’s a great story about a Head of Corrections uncovering a corruption ploy that includes most of his colleagues. The night before being killed, he tells everything about the case to his brother, who must pick up on the leads to solve the case. Jolie plays the role of Jodie Swearingen, a girl who knows more than she lets on about the ploy.
9 Playing God (1997)
Another great early thriller where Jolie has a deeper role besides being eye candy. Playing God is a film directed by Andy Wilson with a screenplay by Mark Haskell Smith. Jolie takes on the role of Claire, the girlfriend of a powerful mob boss who hires the services of Eugene Sands, a former surgeon who loses his medical license after operating on someone under the influence of opioids.
The solid cast includes David Duchovny, Timothy Hutton, and Peter Starmore. Claire proves to be pivotal in the final act of the film after she gets romantically involved with Sands, prompting him to leave the mob behind.
8 Pushing Tin (1999)
If you ever wonder how Billy Bob Thornton managed to land Angeline Jolie, it's because they met filming this movie and realized they were both a couple of weirdos meant for each other. Pushing Tin is directed by Mike Newell and has a screenplay written by Glen and Len Charles.
Jolie plays the unconventional role of Mary Bell, the wife of Thornton’s character Russell Bell, who is at odds with Nick "The Zone" Falzone (played by John Cusak) for most of the movie in a high-stress race where both men try to prove who is the best air traffic controller at the New York TRACON.
7 Mojave Moon (1996)
Reality is often stranger than fiction, but seeing a very young Angelina Jolie play the romantic lead to middle-aged Danny Aiello is still creepy as hell. Mojave Moon is a comedy road movie directed by Kevin Dowling, with a screenplay penned by Leonard Glasser.
In the story, we follow Al McCord as he meets Ellie, who needs a ride into the Mojave Desert to find his mother. The trip quickly turns sour as Al finds himself involved in a plot to hide a body and has to deal with a rabid, jealous boyfriend. It’s a nice little film with plenty of quirks and disparate situations that will give you a good time if you’re willing to overlook the problematic elements in it.
6 Playing By Heart (1998)
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Believe it or not, Jolie's roles back in the 90s weren't just action thrillers; she also used to star in comedy dramas. Playing By Heart was one of them, a comedy-drama with an ensemble cast of Gillian Anderson, Jolie, Ellen Burstyn, Sean Connery, and many others.
It focuses on seemingly unconnected characters whose love lives we explore throughout the plot. Jolie plays the character of Joan, a struggling actress who's only looking for a good time. As the plot thickens, the characters' lives slowly start entangling with one another. If you prefer movies in the vein of Love Actually, this one's definitely for you.
5 Changeling (2008)
Directed, produced, and scored by Clint Eastwood and written by J. Michael Straczynski, Changeling is based on the real-life events of the 1928 Wineville Chicken Coop murders in Mira Loma. The plot follows Jolie as Christine Collins, a woman who gets reunited with her missing boy, but claims that it's not her child.
Instead of believing her, the authorities lock her away, proclaiming her mentally ill and unfit as a mother. The movie explores themes such as child endangerment, female disempowerment, and many others. If you've never seen the movie, we'd recommend giving it a watch to see Jolie's spectacular, Oscar-nominated performance.
4 Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
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Directed by Kerry Conran in his directorial debut, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is a science-fiction film starring Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jolie in the lead roles. The plot is set pre-WWII; after robots attack the streets of New York, a pilot and a reporter team up to find the origin of the attacks and eradicate them. Jolie plays the character of Commander Francesca "Franky" Cook, who flies the Royal Navy aircraft.
Fresh off filming Tomb Raider, Jolie agreed to shoot for the movie for three days. Given that the movie did not have any major studio interest, almost 100 digital artists, modelers, animators, and other creatives got together and worked on the movie's visuals. It was one of the first major movies shot on a digital backlot. Despite flopping at the box office, it's become a cult classic, and people praise it for the unexpected plot twist and the unique visuals.
3 Beowulf (2007)
Based on the Old English epic poem of the same name and written by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary, Beowulf is an action-fantasy movie completely 3D computer-animated. Similarly to Polar Express and Monster House, the characters were created using live-action motion-capture CGI animation and separately voiced by the lead cast, consisting of names such as Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, and Jolie.
The plot focuses on the warrior Beowulf as he travels to Denmark to help defeat the creature called Grendel. He has to defeat his mother (Jolie) later as well, as she seeks revenge. We can't overlook the fact that Jolie's character was once again over-sexualized, but it's a well-told story worthy of revisiting.
2 Wanted (2008)
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Directed by Timur Bekmambetov, Wanted is an action-thriller film starring James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, and Angelina Jolie in the lead roles. The movie is loosely based on the comic book miniseries of the same name, telling the story of account manager Wesley (McAvoy), who accidentally finds out that he's the son of a professional assassin and ends up joining a secret society.
Jolie plays the character of Fox, an accomplished member of the society who gets assigned to train Wesley. The ensemble cast only added to the highly praised, fast-paced action sequences. If you feel like the spy romance genre needs to make a comeback, you're more than welcome to re-watch this masterpiece.
1 A Mighty Heart (2007)
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Based on the 2003 memoir of the same title and directed by Michael Winterbottom, A Mighty Heart is a drama film starring Dan Futterman and Jolie in the lead roles as Daniel and Mariane Pearl. The plot follows the Wall Street journalist who got kidnapped in Karachi, the largest city in Pakistan, and his wife's frantic and tragic journey to locate him.
Despite being a box office failure, the movie received highly positive reviews across platforms. Although some were dissatisfied with Jolie playing the role of a biracial woman, Jolie went on to become a friend of the real Mariane Pearl (who approved the casting). This heart-wrenching story definitely deserves a rewatch.
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