Changeling

 

Changeling 2008

• Director: Clint Eastwood
• Seen by this director: many
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Jeffrey Donovan, Colm Feore, Amy Ryan
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Angelina Jolie – Many
• John Malkovich – Many
• Amy Ryan – Birdman, The Wire, Dan in Real Life, Gone Baby Gone, The War of the Worlds, Homicide, I’ll Fly Away
• Colm Feore – Thor, The Caveman’s Valentine, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Slings and Arrows, The Chronicles of Riddick, Chicago, Titus, Face/Off
• Why? I remember liking it.
• Seen:  Once before. Now 22 November 2023        

             Los Angeles 1928. Christine (Jolie) is a single mother whose boy disappears. After months of anxiety and grief, he is found. Only it’s not the right boy. The cops won’t believe her and eventually lock her up in a mental hospital.

       It’s clear to the viewer quite early on that it’s a police cover-up and it is eventually revealed. It’s based on a true story and it is gripping. The exposé of the abuse and degradation of women is strong but the film is marred by Jolie’s beauty – though she does a good job of acting, either they should have downplayed her beauty or casted, for example, Frances McDormand or Meryl Streep in the part – and John Malkovich has chosen to play his role as an activist priest as a sleazy rabble rouser.

 3* of 5