Friday, November 13, 2015

Angelina Jolie's Best & Worst Hairstyles, & What They Mean For Her Movies

Angelina Jolie's Best & Worst Hairstyles, & What They Mean For Her Movies:

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Is there any doubt that Angelina Jolie will go down in history as one of the most beautiful actresses of all time? There's also little debate about how much the 40-year-old thespian-turned director owes her success in Hollywood to her looks. Yet we've also noticed that in some of her most critically acclaimed, award-garnering roles, she's done something to downplay at least one of her physical assets: her hair.



In her more famous action movies, such as Mr. and Mrs. Smith or The Tourist, Jolie flashes her luxurious brown mane at the world, reveling in her full sex appeal. But every time she gets serious, in a heart-wrenching drama, like A Mighty Heart, or a dark, Oscar-winning descent into mental illness, like Girl, Interrupted, she manipulates her locks into something different. Not necessarily bad (OK, may we never speak of her Gone in 60 Seconds dreads ever again), but not the full Angelina power either. It's like she's got a reverse Samson thing going on here.



We suspect Jolie might be one of the number one proponents of this theory, just based on how she's styled herself in By the Sea, which she directed and stars in alongside husband Brad Pitt. Her '70s-era honey-blonde 'do looks, well, like a normal person's hair, not a movie star's. Here's a brief look back at how her other roles, both loved and hated, relate to her best and worst hairstyles.







Hackers (1995)



Would a high school hacker who calls herself "Acid Burn" bother with long, flowing tresses? Well, if she did, she wouldn't look as badass as Jolie does with her severe pixie cut in this movie. This is the moment when the world started coveting that bone structure.



Watch Hackers on Netflix.



Playing By Heart (1998)



Jolie clearly shot her part in this movie in the middle of growing out her Hackers pixie. Oh, girl, we have been there. A quirky red die job (to match love interest Ryan Phillippe's green hair) doesn't completely cover up the awkwardness of that in-between length. Still, even critics who hated this all-these-love-stories-are-connected movie really loved Jolie in it. The film proved early on that she could have sex appeal with a paper bag over her head.



Watch on Playing By Heart Netflix.



Gia (1998)



To play '70s and '80s supermodel Gia Carangi, Jolie did get to sport some glamorous, cover girl looks. Although, because this HBO movie is also about Gia's descent into drug addiction and AIDS-related death, she also wears her share of awful hairstyles that we hope remain forever locked away.



Watch Gia on HBO.



Girl, Interrupted (1999)



Of course, it took more than frizzy blonde hair with absurdly short bangs to earn Jolie her Best Supporting Actress Oscar as sociopathic mean girl Lisa. Then again, we're sure that it helped her feel crazy.



Watch on Girl, Interrupted Amazon.



Gone in 60 Seconds (2000)



Now, why did Jolie need these raggedy yellow white-girl dreads to play a car thief? We assume the logic comes from the same source that determined it was believable for her to be Nicolas Cage's love interest.



Watch Gone in 60 Seconds on Amazon.



Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)



We get that they wanted Jolie to look and act just like the video game heroine on which the role was based. However, did they have to go so far as to give her those gross stringy hairs that escaped from her braid? Surely the heiress has time to shampoo once in a while.



Watch Lara Croft: Tomb Raider on Netflix.



Alexander (2004)



Jolie's hair has never been so beautiful in a movie as it was when she played Alexander's snake-worshipping mother, Queen Olympias. So, is that why her performance earned a Golden Raspberry nomination?



Watch Alexander on Netflix.



Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005)



Jolie's got one gorgeous, long mane in this film, and it even looks good half-up and tousled after a long day of assassinating. This is also around where we start noticing that she only gets to keep her good hair in movies where her character isn't all that deep. Are serious directors a little frightened of the power of her beauty at full tilt?



Watch Mr. and Mrs. Smith on YouTube.



A Mighty Heart (2007)



Mariane Pearl personally wanted Jolie to play her in this adaptation of her memoir about the beheading of husband Daniel Pearl — despite the fact that Pearl is of Dutch and Afro-Chinese-Cuban descent. It is a testament to Jolie's acting skills that five minutes into the movie, you forget how weird she looks with all that permed hair.



Watch A Mighty Heart on Amazon.



Kung Fu Panda (2008)



As Tigress, Jolie proves she can even look good as a ginger with facial hair. Which strikes us as extremely unfair.



Watch Kung Fu Panda on Amazon.



Changeling (2008)



With her hair bobbed to suit the 1928 setting, and mostly kept under a stylish cloche hat, Jolie is back to being an actress, rather than a movie star, playing the mother of a kidnapped boy. Again, directors and critics alike seem to prefer Jolie to subdue her looks before she can be dramatic. So does the Academy, which gave her a Best Actress nod for the part.



Watch Changeling on Netflix.



Wanted (2008)



Jolie spends a lot of time with her hair in one of her signature looks: pulled back just at the very top, for maximum gun-toting effect, it seems, as the rest flows gorgeously down her shoulders. It's how you know she means business, but also doesn't mind if you — or her protégé, played by James McAvoy — want to admire her at work. Not the most nuanced performance in her career, yet still pretty damn fun to watch.



Watch Wanted on YouTube.



The Tourist (2010)



With perfectly curled, 1950s-style bangs, Jolie seduces the titular tourist (Johnny Depp) into joining her in a wild, dangerous run for his life through Venice. She's suave and charming — an unruffled heroine to Depp's damsel in distress, and remains well-coiffed throughout. Maybe that's why American critics weren't too fond of film — though she did rank well with the Hollywood Foreign Press, garnering a Golden Globe nod.



Watch The Tourist on Amazon.



Maleficent (2014)



The fairy queen actually has horns and soft hair, but she fittingly hides it all under a severe black headdress when forced to battle with the man she once loved. This seems about right: If only we could all arm ourselves so severely and powerfully when our hearts have been broken.



Watch Maleficent on iTunes.



By the Sea (2015)



There's something strangely vulnerable and, well, older about Jolie's '70s-styled blonde locks in this movie. As a brunette, she's all gloss and power. In this movie, she's damaged, unhappy, and bored, just like the dull hue of her hair. After decades of having others hide her hair for big roles, it seems Jolie — as her very own director — agrees.



By the Sea is in theaters now.





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Posted by Nelio Inacio at 4:55 PM

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