Angelina Jolie is one of Hollywood’s greatest actresses of her generation. For decades, she was one of the world’s most sought-after and highest-paid actresses. Although she has taken fewer acting roles in the past decade, she continues to be an icon in the industry. Besides her on-screen talent, Angelina Jolie has long proven she’s a force to be reckoned with off-screen.
Angelina Jolie is also an accomplished filmmaker and humanitarian who served as a Special Envoy to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for about a decade. As a filmmaker, she has directed, produced, and written several films and documentaries. Jolie made her directorial debut with the 2007 documentary A Place in Time. Since then, she has directed five feature-length films. Here’s every Angelina Jolie-directed movie ranked by critical reviews.
By the Sea
IMDb Rating: 5.3/10
Tomatometer: 35%
Popcornmeter: 29%
Besides being the movie’s director, Angelina Jolie wrote its screenplay and co-produced By the Sea (2015) with ex-husband Brad Pitt. Both Jolie and Pitt led the cast of the romantic drama as Vanessa and Roland. Released theatrically on November 14, 2015, By the Sea generally received mixed reviews from critics and was a Box Office flop. Having worked together in Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) a decade earlier, By the Sea was the couple’s next cinematic collaboration. By the Sea’s plot centered around Roland and Vanessa, an American couple who retreat to a coastal French hotel during the 1970s. Roland, a struggling writer, and Vanessa, a former dancer, face emotional distance and marital struggles.
After discovering a hole in a wall in their hotel room, Roland and Vanessa observe a newlywed couple, Léa (Mélanie Laurent) and François (Melvil Poupaud), in the next room. Although the excitement of their voyeurism temporarily ignites their relationship, their interactions with the newlywed couple force them to confront their own pain and hidden truths. Themes of love, loss, pain, and healing are explored as the couple attempts to mend their fractured relationship. Although audiences were far less enthused by the film, several critics praised By the Sea as a beautiful display of art. By the Sea was shot in Malta with a $10 million production budget. However, it only managed to gross $3.3 million at the Box Office.
In the Land of Blood and Honey
IMDb Rating: 4.7/10
Tomatometer: 57%
Popcornmeter: 48%
In the Land of Blood and Honey was Angelina Jolie’s sophomore directorial project, released on December 23, 2011. The 127-minute war drama is set in the early 1990s in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The film centers around Ajla Ekmečić (Zana Marjanović), a Bosnian Muslim woman, and Danijel Vukojević (Goran Kostić), a Serbian soldier. Their pre-war romance turns complicated after Ajla is captured as a prisoner and discovers Danijel is a commander in their rape camp.
As captor and prisoner, Alja and Danijel’s relationship is tested amidst the brutality of war, raising questions about love, loyalty, and survival. In the Land of Blood and Honey received mixed to average reviews, with some commending Hollywood’s interest in retelling and raising awareness about the Bosnian War. Others frowned at Angelina Jolie’s romantic/abusive approach to the story. Angelina Jolie wrote the film’s screenplay, with shooting locations in Budapest and Esztergom, Hungary. In the Land of Blood and Honey was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 69th Golden Globe Awards.
Without Blood
IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
Tomatometer: 33%
As of 2025, the war drama Without Blood (2024) is Angelina Jolie’s last-directed feature film. Jolie, who also wrote the film’s screenplay, adapted it from Alessandro Baricco’s 2002 novel of the same name. Without Blood’s cast is led by Salma Hayek Pinault, who plays Nina. Her character, as a child, witnesses the brutal murder of her family during a violent conflict.
Years later, Nina encounters Tito (Demián Bichir), one of the men responsible for the atrocity. This leads to a tense confrontation that delves into themes of revenge, trauma, and the lingering effects of war. Without Blood premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival and generally received mixed reviews from critics. The film was shot in Apulia and Basilicata, Italy, and starred Jolie and Brad Pitt’s older sons, Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt and Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt.
Unbroken
IMDb Rating: 7.2/10
Tomatometer: 52%
Popcornmeter: 70%
The 2014 war drama Unbroken is Angelina Jolie’s first directed film with a high audience rating. It is also the first and only film in which she didn’t write the screenplay. The Coen Brothers, Richard LaGravenese, and William Nicholson co-wrote the screenplay. It was adapted from Laura Hillenbrand’s 2010 non-fiction book Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption.
The film Unbroken follows the true story of Captain Louis “Louie” Zamperini (portrayed by Jack O’Connell), Louie was an Olympic athlete turned World War II hero. After surviving a plane crash, Louie endures 47 days adrift at sea before being captured and brutally imprisoned in a Japanese POW camp. It also explored Louie’s ordeal and torture at the hands of a sadistic Japanese prison camp commander Sgt. Mutsuhiro “The Bird” Watanabe (portrayed by Miyavi). Although Unbroken received mixed reviews, it is Angelina Jolie’s highest-grossing movie, raking in $163.4 million from its $65 million. Unbroken was shot in Australia.
First They Killed My Father
IMDb Rating: 7.2/10
Tomatometer: 88%
Popcornmeter: 81%
The 2017 Cambodian-American biological thriller First They Killed My Father is Angelina Jolie’s highest-rated film. The 136-minute film is filmed in Khmer language and adapted from Loung Ung’s 2000 non-fiction book of the same name. The film chronicles the harrowing experiences of a young girl, Loung Ung, during the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia.
Separated from her family, Loung faces forced labor, starvation, and unimaginable loss while struggling to survive. First They Killed My Father’s cast featured mostly Cambodian actors, with the film shot in Cambodia. First They Killed My Father was critically acclaimed, with Jolie receiving praise for her direction and awareness about the massacre. While Angelina Jolie has undoubtedly carved a niche for herself as a war drama filmmaker, here’s a ranking of every Taylor Sheridan-created TV show.
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