Changeling

(2008)

Directed by

Clint Eastwood

Review by Todd Plucknett

Oscar-winner Clint Eastwood’s new film Changeling is, in a word, stunning. It is a masterful achievement that legitimately ranks with his best films and the best films of this year. It is different than anything he has done to this point, which seems to be the case with each and every one of his films the last five years or so.

Changeling takes us back to 1920s Los Angeles in this haunting true story. Christine Collins (Oscar-winner Angelina Jolie) is a single mother with a young child named Walter (Gattlin Griffith). Christine reluctantly works so often that she cannot spend the amount of time that she wants with her beloved child. One day, she is called into work on very short notice, so she has to leave her boy at the house. When she arrives back at the house that night, Walter is nowhere to be found. She calls the police, who offer little help other than the advice to call back in the morning.

Meanwhile, Reverend Gustav Briegleb (John Malkovich) has had radio telecasts all along about the horrible corruption in the police department.  Later on, in an attempt to establish some credibility for the force, Police Captain JJ Jones tells Christine that Walter has been found. When Christine meets up with the boy with all the press around, she is shocked to see him. It is not her son. While she is confused and borderline offended, Jones makes her agree to take the boy on a “trial basis” and snap a photo of the two of them to boast to the newspapers of the police’s solving of a huge case. As Christine begins to find indisputable clues to the fact that this is not Walter, such as the fact that he is four inches shorter, she begins to get more public about the issue. This is mostly originated by Briegleb’s desperation to expose the police.

Shown in parallel fashion, Detective Lester Ybarra (Michael Kelly) searches the Northcutt Ranch for a child who illegally crossed the US-Canada border. He finds the boy (Eddie Alderson), who is then taken in. He tells the story to Ybarra of how he and his uncle Gordon Northcutt (Jason Butler Harner) abducted and murdered some twenty children, one of them identified as possibly being Walter Collins. While this is going on, Christine is widely ignored and sent into a mental hospital. All of the side stories unravel into a gripping murder mystery and a quest for justice from the notoriously crooked police department. At no point is any of this uninteresting.

The screenplay is written by television writer J. Michael Straczynski, who stayed very close to historical documents and fact in writing his fascinating first screenplay. The film has several different stories going on, and it is put together in a way to make every part of it immensely engaging. There are so many characters to get to know, and even though Jolie dominates most of the film, the supporting parts are almost all equally note-worthy. Malkovich is definitely in his niche with his part. No actor (except for maybe Al Pacino) can break down like Malkovich can. He certainly has a way with fury, and it is completely appropriate for his part. Donovan is fantastic as the heartless police captain who only wants good press. Colm Feore is sufficient as the police chief basically behind the whole ordeal. Geoffey Pierson is excellent as Christine’s brilliant and commanding lawyer. Kelly is great in his role as the detective. Harner blasts onto the screen in one of the best supporting performances of the year so far. He creates one of the best psycho villains in years, mainly because he is so vulnerable and the audience and the characters know nothing about him. Recent Oscar-nominee Amy Ryan plays basically Jolie’s Lisa in Girl, Interrupted to Christine in this film. She gets totally lost in her character, and she has now proven that last year’s Gone Baby Gone was definitely not a fluke.

In addition to all these supporting performances, the child actors are incredible in this picture. Griffith is very mysterious and interesting as Walter Collins. Alderson is perfect in his role as the boy who basically broke the case open. Asher Axe also gives a very emotional one scene in this film as well. Eastwood really can bring out the best in his actors. None of these performances can top Jolie’s, however. Everything about her is completely authentic and convincing. At times, she has a rage and passion that is on the level of Sean Penn in Mystic River, which will undeniably give the audience chills. She also has an emotional quality and a tear-stricken face that will break your heart and create genuine empathy. Her performance has a lot of A Mighty Heart in it also. Christine is someone who does not like to break her status as being calm, so even when tears are streaming down her face, she tries to hold in her anxiety, fear, and frustration that is obviously tormenting her in those moments. She plays off all the other actors brilliantly, creating unique chemistry in each case. If anyone still does not think Jolie is a great actress, there is seriously something wrong. There is no more talented actress working today. This is a staggering performance that should be granted at least a nomination, even though that is unlikely due to the Academy’s bias against her and unjust mixed reviews for this film.

Eastwood’s direction here only increases my complete enthusiasm for his work and his reestablishing of style and changing of genres in every picture. He flawlessly takes the audience back to the 1920s. The art direction, cinematography, and costumes are all appropriate and award-worthy. Also, Eastwood’s own score is again so subtle and haunting, as is the case in almost all of his musical achievements.

All of his films have a similar look to them. Everything is always so much darker and bluer than typical movies. It works here again, as it does in all of his films. Similar camerawork is used on Jolie as was used on Tim Robbins in his Oscar-winning role in Mystic River. As the film goes on, more shadows cover Christine, and she almost fades into the black in many cases, which was how Robbins was dealt with. The two are similarly mistreated and tormented characters, and I have to believe that these camera techniques are not coincidences. Eastwood can really put the spotlight on his actors and just give them the floor to shine.

Also, the film is edited in a way that really blends styles of Eastwood’s previous films. There is a lot of Mystic River in it. It is not just similar themes, but how they are dealt with. The flashbacks and parallel storylines create an especially eerie and hypnotic atmosphere, much like they did in Eastwood’s best film Mystic River. Also, the film will undoubtedly bring to the audience’s mind Flags of Our Fathers as the film is drawing toward the conclusion. He could have stopped the film at about 90 minutes, but he doesn’t do it. Like Flags, Eastwood keeps strumming along with the story and these irresistible characters. Why? He wants to end the film right. He wants to give it its complete justice, and finish the story, rather than just abruptly ending it to achieve some sort of artificial status and hold the film to a shorter length. As it is, you know the film is going over two hours, but you do not mind. It is so captivating and riveting to watch that its running time is more than well deserved. It only gets better. The beginning half hour of the film is fine, but it builds into a grand and important drama that is even superior to the opening. This story is one of passion and inspiration, and that is truly evident in the work of everyone involved. It is a poignant piece that will linger around in the mind of the audience for quite some time. Where will Eastwood go from here? Gran Torino…The Human Factor…I can’t wait.

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