Changeling (Universal Pictures)
TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN FICTION
Clint Eastwood took a true story out of Los Angeles past and created a stunning movie called Changeling. Using the elements of a case involving the mother of an abducted child back in the 1920s, Eastwoods film dramatizes the fact that truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. Angelina Jolie and a near perfect supporting cast bring this horrific story to life.
Christine Collins (Jolie) is a single mother raising her son in Los Angeles in the 1920s. She is devoted to her son but has to work in order to live. One day she is called into work and has to leave her nine year old son Walter (Gatlin Griffith) at home alone. When she returns from work late that afternoon Walter is gone.
After a few months have passed the police notify her they have found Walter, but the son they present to her is not the son she remembers. The police say she is just suffering from stress and that this is her son, but Christine knows in her heart he is not. The detective in charge of the case, Captain J J Jones (Jeffery Donovan), treats her with contempt and accuses her of not wanting the responsibility of raising her son.
The only person offering Christine any support is a minister of a Presbyterian Church named Gustav Briegleb (John Malkovich). He believes her and thinks this case is just another foul-up by the incompetent police department. But even he can not protect Christine when the police department decides to silence her complaints.
The movie is full of horrendous events that actually occurred and these situations provide the film with moments of intense and high drama. If the facts were not true the script would be accused of being totally over the top.
Eastwoods directing pace of the story is perfectly suited to let the events unfold over a period of time. There is nothing rushed about the proceedings and the audience is left with a feeling of completeness when the movie is over. Eastwood is also the master at letting the horror of the events unfold without revealing them in graphic detail.
Jolie lets all of Christines panic and pain unfold in the way she holds her body and in the agony imprinted in her eyes. She is one talented actress and this movie gives her a role that displays her abundant talents.
Malkovich underplays the role of Briegleb, stifling his usual tics and twitches to portray a calm authoritative man. Donovan is cold and calculating as the icy detective. Amy Ryan makes a strong impression as a prostitute placed in a psychiatric ward against her will.
The movie is rated R for profanity and violence.
“Changeling is a movie that will impress you with its talent, amaze you with the horror of its story, and satisfy you with the completeness of its plot. It is Eastwood at his best as a director who knows how to get this story told. Plus in Jolie he has found the perfect actress to showcase. Jolie and Eastwood make a dynamic duo for this intense, but enjoyable movie.
I scored Changeling an identifiable 8 out of 10.
