Making this Clint Eastwood film was “very, very painful” for Angelina Jolie.

Clint Eastwood’s The Exchange, sandwiched between Clint Eastwood’s The Exchange, 2006’s Letters From Iwo Jima, and 2008’s another holy grail, Gran Torino. Moreover, its results at the international box office would not say otherwise. Released for $55 million, it only grossed twice as much. Obviously a very sad outcome.

If it doesn’t appear in Clint’s vast filmography, it’s still worth a look, if only for Angelina Jolie’s composition, which carries the film at arm’s length. It is even more interesting that it is also a true story.

That of Christine Collins. One morning in 1928, he said goodbye to his son Walter and went to work. routine. When he got home, she was gone. A frantic search ensued, and a few months later a nine-year-old boy claiming to be Walter was returned to him. Cristina took him home, but deep down she knew he wasn’t her son… By reporting him missing, Cristina Collins intended to highlight the more dubious actions of the corrupt police.

A “very, very difficult” experience

Before reading the script, Angelina Jolie hesitated to accept the role, because she had just finished shooting a grueling film that already had a kidnapping issue: Untamed Heart (she played the wife of Daniel Pearl, a kidnapped and murdered journalist. ). “Ultimately, it was Christine’s stubbornness and resilience that made me change my mind. I especially like this story because it condemns the corruption of people in power.”– the actor confided.

In Advertising interview Angelina Jolie explains about the release date of The Exchange that the experience of filming Clint was very trying. “I’ve often worked on movies that required a lot of emotion and a director who didn’t understand that. You’d start a scene and do ten takes…with Clint, you just tell him and he understands.” The filmmaker was more attentive and consistent with the actor, as he is known for taking very few shots.

Being a mother herself, the actress admitted that this role was close to her heart. Imagining the pain of losing a child, especially the helplessness Christine felt, made the experience even more personal. “Losing a child and not knowing where they are is probably the worst thing…so the film was very, very painful.”