Changleing

A Review By C.J. Henderson

Ladies and gentlemen, let me get right down to business and announce that Mr. Clint Eastwood has done it again. Yes, the man does not make many movies. Maybe being rich and old and comfortable, he feels no need to keep throwing his name out before the public. Maybe he is terribly insecure and refuses to release a film until it is absolutely perfect.

 

I don’t know the actual answer. There is only so much insider info available to we agents of the Brooklyn View from the millionaire enclaves of the Hollywood Hills. But, I can tell you this much, the man is one of the greatest directors who has ever worked in the business.

 

He has an unerring sense for picking the absolute best material and crafting it into the finest kinds of dramas. And, he has done it again. His latest picture, “Changeling,” tells the true story of a courageous woman who took on a brutal, corrupt system, and if it doesn’t have people spreading Oscar buzz from one end of the continent to the other, then as they say in the poolhalls, “der just ain’t no justice.”

 

The story: In the L.A. of the late 1920s, the police ruled with an iron hand. Most of them on the take unto the highest offices, they ruthlessly murdered the gangs that did not pay them and then charged their rivals for the service. They did what they wanted to, to whomever they pleased, and those who tried to fight back found themselves imprisoned, locked away in insane asylums, or simply executed.

 

In March of 1928, single mother Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie) left for work. When she returned home, her nine year old son was missing. She began an exhaustive search and, after five months, the L.A.P.D. reported that her son had been found. Eager to get some good press for once, the police arrange a sprawling media event where mother and son are reunited. Mrs. Collins is overjoyed to participate. Or at least she is until she sees the boy the police insist is her son.

 

Dazed and confused, she takes the boy in but never stops pushing the authorities to find her son. For her mother’s love she is forced to submit to examinations by doctors brought in by the police to help maintain their story, and then slandered as delusional and unfit. She finds a powerful ally in community activist Gustav Briegleb (John Malkovich), but she has the entire political power structure of the city of Los Angeles against her. And they are determined to have their way.

This would all seem like some outlandish movie-of-the-week made for the Lifetime channel if it were not for the fact that it actually happened. Knowing one is watching a true story, “Changeling” becomes an incredibly relentless experience. It is not fast-paced, but it is overwhelmingly intense. One simply can not take their eyes off the screen.

 

Or, for that matter, off Ms. Jolie. There is nothing wrong with an actress taking food-on-the-table jobs like the mindless “Tomb Raider” movies, or fun but silly romps such as “Wanted.” But, those are not the kinds of films that earn you Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards, or Oscars. “Changeling” is. Jolie proves once again that she is one of our most outstanding actresses by delivering one of the most electrifying performances in ages.

But then, she is in good company. There are no bad performances in the film, to say the least, and if Jason Butler Harner doesn’t garner a best supporting actor nod, then L.A. has not learned a thing about justice since Christine Collins was first brutalized by their police.

 

In short, there is simply nothing one can honestly do but praise this film. The recreation of the Los Angeles of eighty years ago is overwhelmingly convincing. The costuming, the attention to every tiny detail from what should be on the radio to the automobiles in the streets–everything is perfect.

 

This is a powerful film with a strong message. It is brutally frank, unforgiving, and the players unleash honest human emotion at a pace which is certain to make many audience members squirm. Give the credit to them, or perhaps to screenwriter J. Michael Straczynski (“The Twilight Zone,” “Babylon 5″), but be ready for a dark ride.

 

And, do consider seeing this one in the theater. Eastwood certainly does make good use of the big screen in almost every scene, but I make this recommendation for a different reason. Good box office is the only thing that gets studios in making a certain kind of picture. Myself, I think we need more films about brave and honest people inspiring those around them to fight back against corrupt politicians and their thugs.

 

What do you think?

 

Our final word: 5 stars out of 5.

 

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