Changeling (**½)

Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Jeffrey Donovan, Michael Kelly, John Malkovich, Colm Feore, Michael Kelly
Seen: March 8th 2009

**½ Out of ****

Clint Eastwood, it seems, cannot make bad films, he is simply incapable of doing so. Changeling is yet another good film from the 78-year old. And Angelina Jolie, whenever she manages to pick a good roll, also excels.

Changeling is the story of Christine Collins’ (Jolie) search for her son after he disappears in 1928. Or, to put it more accurately, her struggle with the police search for her son; and what makes this story so much more of a controversy is that it’s also a true one. Christine Collins is a supervisor at the Los Angeles telephone exchange, and after cancelling plans to go to the movies with her son one Saturday because of an emergency at work, she returns to an empty home, her son gone.

When she reports this to the police they stonewall her because most kids are usually just absent-minded and lose track of time, telling her that they only start doing something after 24, which is standard procedure. The next we see is the Reverend Gustav Briegleb preaching to his congregation, asking them to keep Christine Collins in mind, since her son has been missing for two weeks, even though she is not part of the church. He goes on to say that he knows the police are doing all they can to find her son, but adds that that can’t be much in a department ruled by violence and corruption. He has made it his personal life mission to bring to light all that the LAPD does not want out in the open.

Five months later Christine gets a call at work from Captain JJ Jones (Donovan), the head of the juvenile investigation unit, and he tells her that they found her son. When they arrive at the train station and the boy gets off the train Christine immediately knows this is not her son. Captain Jones convinces her that she’s emotional and not thinking straight, like women do, and she agrees to give the boy a chance. At home she also realises the ‘impostor’ is 3 inches shorter than her son, and is also circumcised, her son wasn’t. When she decides to go up against the police department, Captain Jones has Christine thrown into a Psychopathic ward, where she is basically tortured until she signs a form claiming she was wrong, which she never does.

The film keeps parading unfair and unbelievable things done to Christine Collins by the LAPD, and the viewer’s hatred for the antagonist grows with every passing second, even when they still try to justify and even glorify their actions while attempting to keep on demonising Christine upon inquest nearing the end of the film. Another seemingly independent story-line originates when detective Lester Ybarra (Kelly) takes a case out of boredom and eventually catches a serial killer, which to me was the more interesting storyline after a while, since we don’t have to put up with Christine’s complaining all the time (not that a parent shouldn’t complain when their kid is missing and the police will not do a thing about it, but because it is laboured a bit too strongly).

Changeling is only sporadically involving, and lapses into times of boredom, but it is still a very good movie, since the emotions of anger and elation evoked in the film are real, even if not sustained. The film is historically very well done (not that I was there in 1930 to know), and all the actors do what they must very good, but some small elements felt a little forced. The story of a mother not losing hope however dark things may seem is one that does touch you, and that is why some people may really enjoy the film. And if you enjoy a film about the small person taking on the bigger organisation, give this one a chance…