Angelina Jolie has delivered a powerhouse performance in her role as a suffering mother in the movie, The Exchange’ directed by the inimitable Clint Eastwood and screened at the ongoing Cannes film festival.

‘The Exchange’, called as the ‘Changeling’ a few days back, tells the story of Christine Collins ,a mother in 1928 whose 9 year old child goes missing and is presented with another child by the police to take in on a ”trial basis”. But when she continues to pester the LAPD to search for her son, the cops lock her up in a psycho ward. But in due course of time, because of the relentless struggle by Collins, with help from a radio minister played by John Malkovich, and a friendly detective played by Michael Kelly, the police force, its chief and the mayor are exposed to the wrath of a citizenry fed up with living in a police state.

Incredibly the movie is based on a true story and Clint Eastwood’s competitive entry at Cannes exposes the corruption that characterized Los Angeles society in circa 1982 behind its veneer of innocence and progress. It also revealed the society steeped in a culture that treated women as hysterical and unreliable beings when they challenged male wisdom.

AS for Angelina Jolie the role as Christine Collins was deeply moving as she reminded her of her own mother who passed away last year.

‘This is personal but I lost my mother a few months before the film and my character was very much like my mother. My mother was very passive in many ways and as a woman she was very shy, but when it came to her children she was a lioness. It was a way to revisit my mother and spend time with her. It was very nice and very healing for me,’ the Telegraph.co.uk quoted the actress as saying.

Angelina has discarded her movie star image to put in a sensitive and powerful performance as a woman of substance.