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1.  "Changeling" (2008)

Early boosters say Clint Eastwood's "Changeling" will guarantee a Best Actress Oscar for Jolie; some cynics will tell you that's the only thing it was made to do. Still, playing Christine Collins, a single mother in 1930s Los Angeles whose child disappears... more (with the LAPD returning a "son" who is clearly not her boy), Jolie delivers strong and striking work. The part may be designed to tap into Jolie's role as our designated celebrity mother, but it still gives her plenty of juicy scenes designed to be incorporated into Academy highlight reels, as she weeps, wails and rages against the machine to get the truth out about her still-missing son and the LAPD's conspiracy to silence her. This raises the interesting question of whether Jolie's public persona has become so large that a film can't avoid incorporating it into her role -- a question we'll have to wait to see answered in her future films and choices. (Warner Bros. Pictures)

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