The arc of a wild child who becomes a beatific force of goodness in the world is one that Angelina Jolie knows intimately, as her unlikely transformation from blood-loving, brother-kissing Goth to immaculate U.N. ambassador makes clear. Perhaps that’s what made her the ideal choice to direct the highly anticipated Christmas release Unbroken, which is based on Laura Hillebrand’s book about the incredible true-life tale of Louis Zamperini, a young rabble-rouser who cleans up his act, stuns in an Olympic race, is shot down during World War II, somehow survives 47 days on a raft lost at sea, and then is truly tested when he’s emotionally decimated by a sadistic Japanese officer in a P.O.W. camp. Any one of those stories would have made for a perfectly Oscar-friendly feature, so to get them all in this package, directed by Jolie with invaluable contributions from the Coen brothers (who co-scripted) and their longtime cinematographer Roger Deakins, who turns in shot after stunning shot in this well-made new trailer? Let’s just guess that the next time Jolie makes an appearance at the Academy Awards, we’ll have a lot more to talk about than her leg.
