a 2008 film. as a director clint eastwood has been one of my favourites, and he has given us some of the finest films we have ever seen. changeling was a far cry from eastwood's best films, but i can tell you that it was an experience i wont easily forget.
a single mother, christine collins (angelina jolie) returns home one day from her switchboard supervising duty to find her young son, walter (gattlin griffith) missing. she reports it immediately and gets a very casual and condescending reaction from the police department. later we know that the worst is yet to come. after a few months, the police chief stages a reunion between christine and a boy who christine insists is not walter. her insistence becomes an irritation for the chief and as a result she is ridiculed and treated as a hysterical, traumatised woman who is declared a lunatic and a threat to herself and to others. she is locked away in a mental hospital.
the meandering events pointing to explore police corruption, the suppression of women, the emotional effectiveness of capital punishment and rights of civilians, along with the plight of children is a little confusing at first until the whole story emerges slowly but mundanely.
set in the year 1928, besides being taken to a an era way before us, it is also black and white in terms of character portrayals. a story about the unflagging determination of an ordinary woman and her quest to find her 9 year old son. but while the tenacity in the face of overwhelming odds is undeniably admirable, the way it plays out is not always compelling.
in the story christine seems to have just one ally, a radio preacher named gustav briegleb (john malkovich) who believes in her and helps her to expose the lapd's bullying.
the methodical storytelling leads to flat and even tedious stretches and parts of the story mirrored by jolie's deliberate performance are so calm that they seem almost monotonous.
i think with this film the actors were not able to stretch out in the zone between realism and melodrama to explore their characters' raw nerves, tender spots and psychic calluses like those who did in eastwood's previous films. even though it is supposedly based on a true story, it did not quite feel real.
the script is compelling, the direction confident, the production values professional, the actress classy, and the chilling and gruesome turns, with the belief in ultimate justice makes it an unforgettable film.
watch it as you simply must watch a clint eastwood film :-)
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