by B. R. GOWANI
The mini United Nations. The four of the six children: (from left) Maddox (8) Zahara (5) Pax (6), and Shiloh Nouvel (4) with Angelina Jolie at a Japanese airport. PHOTO/Wire/Popeater
There are many good actors and actresses in the cinema world but then there are some exceptional ones who have the talent, charisma, charm, and energy to sway you completely under their spell. Angelina Jolie is one of those actresses. Her combination of femininity and masculine force (as on display in films such as Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Wanted, and Salt) and her outstanding performances delights her male fans and keeps her female fans exhilarated seeing one of their own as an embodiment of male/female equality.
She executes her role in her latest movie with such flair and believability that it never crosses your mind that originally the role of Salt was supposed to be played by Tom Cruise. After knowing that, a second thought to strike you is that Jolie was the right choice for that role. In the enactment of her role of an undercover CIA agent on the run, after being accused of being a Russian mole, she stays acting oriented rather than relying on the crutches of style, bravado, sex, or other gimmick; even her covering up of one of the monitor cameras with her pantie is done in a natural manner. (For some of the males watching Salt, of course, any such action is bound to create a disturbance in the hormonal level.)
One reminder: The SALT (in capital letters) is the acronym for the 1970s Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (or Talk) between the United States and the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) (now Russia) during the Cold War. That was the time when the US was pushing the USSR deeper and deeper into the arms race. But that country didn’t have the economy as strong as the US and so in the early 1990s, the USSR unraveled and the not so secret fact about its hollow Super-ness was out there for all to see.
In the film, some of the Russians operating in the US are back to their old tricks and wants to destroy the United States, but, in a timely fashion, Salt saves the world from a nuclear disaster. In these kinds of thrillers, generally, you notice so many loopholes and you also feel your thinking faculty under attack that you cannot appreciate them. Somehow, it is different with Salt—not that the situations in the film agree with your reasoning power—but because this movie is like an avalanche and once you descend in it, you don’t feel like extracting yourself out of it. But if one sits to write about the absurdities of this movie, more than few pages are an easy bet. But this article is basically a little tribute to Angelina Jolie’s acting prowess and that’s why the refrain from the dozens of glaringly obvious faults in the movie. The US Russia relations are not going to be adversely affected by this movie as is clear from Jolie’s attending the film’s Moscow premiere.
Angelina Jolie gives a dynamite performance. Her acting is superb and she portrays her role with such ease and realistic manner that her character’s agony and the efforts to clear accusation comes out forcefully on the screen. You’ll be amazed at her energy as she is constantly on the run and/or in action. She herself has done many of the stunts in the movie. Her role in this film may encourage more women oriented movies.
Jolie’s character Evelyn Salt does not die in the end and there are reports that a sequel will be made. Once, upon being offered a role of one of James Bond’s babes, she shot back: “No, thank you, but I’d like to be Bond.” She thinks this is her Bond movie. But this female Bond is damn good and so natural unlike the male Bonds who are more into style than acting. Who knows, perhaps in the near future, she may replace James Bond and play Jane Bond or Jamie Bond.
B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com