Cast: Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich

Director: Clint Eastwood

Screenplay: Michael Strasynzky

Running time: 2 hrs 21 mins

Genre: Drama/Crime/Thriller



CRITIQUE:

With the social relevance of recent-day child abduction cases, a film like Changeling should struck a nerve. Although set in the 1920s, with the burnished look and shaded cinematic feel, it’s the public concern that resonates the most. From a simple tale of a mother looking for a lost child, the film astonishingly evolves into a riveting mixture of a high-strung crime drama, a gripping noir, and a compelling exhibit on corruption and social justice. It is inevitable that this can stand alongside the likes of L. A. Confidential as a critique to Los Angeles’ moral rot, where it shows the birth of an inherently inept and dark-hearted guardians of the modern City of Angels. Yet despite of the complex rudiments that tower over the film, it is, in full circle, a shattering chronicle of a mother’s torment, which raises the bar to a personal level for a common Eastwood film. And yes, it is genuine tearjerker. Any mother who holds great love to a child would emerge from cinemas with a sniff.


At the heart of this film are two immense profiles, Eastwood and Jolie. The main man Clint himself renders subtlety to this work and at 78, he shows no sign of slowing down. Running with a copious length of more than two hours, he directs with enough dramatic focus and tension, as the mystery unfolds about the lost child. Although nearly saddling with the serial-killer territory, he wisely sidesteps the eerie murderer’s background and roots for the inexplicable-evil depiction and rather keeps the story’s attention to the anguished central character Christine Collins. Which brings us to Mother Gaia herself, Angelina Jolie. Undoubtedly having the charismatic presence of old Hollywood glamour, she does not only sheds her magazine personality but embodies a woman in distraught, last seen in her depth in Girl, Interrupted and her tenacious pathos in A Mighty Heart. She might have been cruelly Oscar-snubbed in the latter, but in Changeling, depriving her at least a nom is a crime. She is the nucleus, the beating pulse of this tale, which not only drives the plot forwards, but through her convincing character arc, we are able to feel her grief, a performance that draws audience’s compassion. It reminds us of her chameleonic accomplishment that this is also the same year she brought us the crazy-sexy-cool Fox in the daredevil Wanted.


Even the supporting performances are of impressive flair, John Malkovich’s mighty Reverend, a priest driven by a justifiable vendetta against the police rather than faith and gospel-mongers, and Amy Ryan’s prostitute in the mental ward, that even in brief time, she provides human depth. There may be some advances by certain critics that this lacks the knockout force of Million Dollar Baby, but testaments of scenes from the chilling moment Collins realises that the boy returned to her isn’t her son, to her confinement in the psychotic ward, and her steely resolve to bare the black soul of LAPD – it’s the anger and pain of this tale that leaves a lingering throb, accompanied by Eastwood’s own beautiful score.



VERDICT:

Eastwood drawing a dark, depressing yet mesmerising drama nailed perfectly by Jolie’s tour-de-force of a performance, making this a fiercely unforgettable film.



RATING: A+