'Maleficent: Mistress of Evil' could finally put focus on Angelina Jolie back where it belongs, on her incredible acting talent
Angelia Jolie is no ordinary woman. One of Hollywood's highest-paid actresses, she has an Oscar award and three Golden Globes to her credit. But testing times took the spotlight from her career to her troubled personal life.
From being one of the biggest role models in the film industry, she slowly tumbled into a dark phase ever since news of her million-dollar divorce with Brad Pitt hit the headlines. However, it may finally be time for resurrection as, after every dusk, there's always dawn.
The dark world of 'Maleficent: Mistress of Evil' opens to the Disney villainess, reimagined as the misunderstood winged warrior. The green-eyed flame-throwing fairy makes a swashbuckling entry with stern words, "Don't ruin my morning!" In the two-minute trailer, she marks her presence with a powerful dialogue: "Love doesn't always end well."
For Jolie, it strikes a chord and reflects her personal life. "There have been times in my life where I have felt misunderstood, like Maleficent, and not accepted. Early in my career, I did feel small and like an outcast," the star said at the film’s world premiere. "The public associated me [with] self-destructive behavior, and not as a serious actor. People thought of me only in that way, which was hard."
The 44-year-old actress has had a long and distressing journey ever since the dark fantasy film 'Maleficent' first hit the screens in 2014. Five years ago, she was at the zenith of her career and personal life. She even expanded into direction, screenwriting, production and directed all her energy into humanitarian efforts.
All was going well but life had chalked out a different fate for her. Her scandalous relationship with Pitt has been fodder for tabloids ever since the two starred in 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' (2005). Branded as 'Brangelina', the birth of the couple’s biological children, Shiloh (2006) and twins Knox and Vivienne (2008), caused a media frenzy. Once the initial hubbub subsided, the two exchanged vows and were called one of Hollywood's most glamorous pair. However, there were more troubled times in store for the actress. In 2016, Jolie found herself waging another war when she decided to part ways with her husband. Calling the breakup a "complicated moment", she confessed that she didn't recognize herself anymore.
She said in an interview with French magazine Madame Figaro that she felt "smaller, almost insignificant, even if it wasn’t necessarily obvious." She added: "I felt a deep and genuine sadness. I was hurt." Her public image was tarnished with the defamatory rumors soon after and she found herself in a fix. "I was boozing too much. It's just become a problem," she revealed in an interview with the New York Times.
She even stepped away from the screen for a while, thus, disconnecting herself from her fans. However, her role in the 'Maleficent' sequel might finally put her back on the pedestal she deserves. The film has a personal connection with her life, especially in the moments of motherhood captured on reel. "The real, truest love pulls out your best qualities in yourself, and that’s what children do", she said, adding, "Being a mother brought out something in me that completely transformed me, similar to Maleficent. I felt a responsibility to be a better person", Jolie continued. "Maleficent is trying her best. I think where she fails is that she doesn’t believe in herself. She questions herself if she’s good enough to be a mother. I had questions when I was first became a mother, and whether I was fit or not. That struck a chord with me."
"The last few years haven’t been the easiest, since when I first played her", she said. "I’ve been through different things in my life, and I was happy to play Maleficent again. She made me feel strong again. You have to go through everything — the ups and downs — because it leads to something bigger and greater, and makes you stronger."
Born in 1975 to actor parents, Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand, she was raised in Los Angeles and made her screen debut as a child alongside her father Jon Voight in 'Lookin' to Get Out' in 1982. She was first married to actor Jonny Lee Miller in 1996 but the couple was divorced by 1999. As 'Maleficent: Mistress of Evil' premieres on October 18, 2019, it may turn out to be a new beginning for the actress where she rises like a phoenix from the ashes.
