Film Review: Changeling

Director: Clint Eastwood

A 2008 drama film partly based on the 1928 "Wineville Chicken Coop" kidnapping and murder case in Los Angeles, California. The film was released during one of the best periods of Eastwood's work as a director with Gran Torino being released shortly after and Million Dollar Baby being released just a few years before. The film saw nominations for Angelina Jolie as the Best Leading Actress at the Oscars, BAFTA's and Golden Globes but she failed to win at any of these awards with Kate Winslet beating her for The Reader (god knows why, the whole film was abysmal) and at the Golden Globes where she won for Revolutionary Road. 

Los Angeles, 1928. Single mother Christine Collins (Jolie) returns home to discover her nine-year-old son, Walter (Griffith), is missing. After a long search over many months, the LAPD says they have found her son alive and well. Believing the positive publicity will negate recent criticism of the department, the LAPD organizes a public reunion. Although "Walter" (Conti) claims he is Christine's son, she says he is not. Captain J. J. Jones (Donovan), the head of the LAPD's Juvenile Division, insists the boy is Walter and pressures Christine into taking him home. Christine is still adamant that her son is still missing and gets into trouble as she pressures the LAPD to continue searching.

Christine with "Walter" after he disappeared

Angelina Jolie is incredibly impressive as the driven Christine who searches to find her real son against a tide of negativity from the LAPD. Jolie was at times weak and vulnerable as she reached her lowest ebbs and showed a different side to her acting abilities that I hadn't seen before. Arguably the films best feature is the impressive cast surrounding Jolie, especially John Malkovich and Jeffrey Donovan.

At the heart of this dark film is more than just a search for a missing boy, Changeling produces a scathing critique of big politics in the 1920's in the mold of Chinatown. The cover-ups produced at the top level of the police force and city government are monumental whilst it also portrays a time when women were still fighting to be treated as equal citizens even in America. Christine's fight for her son also leads to her being silenced and discredited because she is seen as a female threat in a male dominated society. A rich compelling film which is backed up by impressive acting performances.

3.5/4 Tense engrossing drama with a political edge.