REVIEW: Changeling (2008) with Links Galore!
Changeling
Rated: R
Runtime: 141 minutes
Starring: Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Michael Kelly
My rating: 5 stars
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A true story. Not based on a true story or on actual events. Changeling declares all of it is true. And it is, making this story from the late 1920s that much more heart-wrenching and powerful.
Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie) is on a crusade to find her missing child, Walter. Her journey leads to a stint in a mental institution, and the uncovering of countless lies and cover-ups by a supremely corrupt Los Angeles Police Department.
My first college professor told my Introduction to Journalism class, “The cover-up is almost always worse than the crime.” Changeling epitomizes the statement.
When Walter vanishes, Christine notifies the police and five months later they find a boy in Illinois who matches the description. The two are reunited at a train station, but Christine immediately says the boy is not her son. The police convince her she's being emotional and irrational and that a lot can change in five months. She takes the boy in on a “trial basis” with the hope of calming down and realizing it is her son. The audience knows it's not. The police just want to look good in the newspapers.
The boy Christine gets is shorter, circumcised, doesn't recognize his school teacher and a dentist says the boy's teeth are different that Walter's. It's no matter for the police, who say she's starting to go insane with delusions. Local Reverend Gustav Briegleb (John Malkovich) offers his help because he sees through the headlines and cover-ups. He and a few close friends are the only ones who believe Christine's side.
Briegleb and Christine slowly pick apart the police department, while still trying to find Walter. Christine is devoted only to her son, but is thrust into a revolution of sorts. She is the figure head for all those mistreated by the police department and the voice of other mothers whose children are missing.
This irritates police captain J.J. Jones (Jeffrey Donovan), who orders Christine be sent to the county mental institution in hopes of keeping her quiet. Inside, Christine learns of other police-ordered “patients” and begins to learn what she is actually up against.
Little-by-little morals overcome corruption, and the search for Walter shows promise. Another boy, Sanford Clark, is living on the Northcott Ranch illegally as a Canadian citizen. When he's taken in by police, he tells of the horrors done at the ranch. Up to 20 kids, one of whom might be Walter, were captured by owner Gordon Northcott (Jason Butler Harner).
But what did Northcott do with Walter? That's where the movie turns from an interesting build-up to greatness in the payoff. We've seen the struggle and fortitude Christine exhibits. Now we want to see the triumph. We're begging for it. Director Clint Eastwood makes us wait in agony, just like Christine does.
Changeling is about how people rally behind one in an effort to bring change. They've seen the injustices done to Christine and want desperately to see her victorious. So do we.
Eastwood is marvelous at revealing each piece slowly. He lets us think we've put it together, and then shows us how it happened.
The direction and acting is perfect. Eastwood is a master at showing us how we should feel about a character without ever having them say a word. Almost all of the people associated with the police department have their faces half-lighted, with the camera pointed slightly up and askew. They're the bad guys before they speak. Christine has color with bright-red lipstick and a very light face when she's on the verge of redemption. She's without makeup and extremely pale when she's in the institution. But in the eyes, there's still hope. It gives us hope, too. Eastwood knew exactly how to present this movie.
Jolie earned a “Best Actress” Oscar nomination for this role. She's the heroine and victim all at once. The biggest problem with Jolie is that it's hard for an audience to disconnect the name from the character she's playing (i.e., Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft, not Lara Croft played by Angelina Jolie). In Changeling she successfully transcends her name and becomes Christine.
Changeling is emotional and draining, but rewarding. It's one of Eastwood's best works, ranking along with Million Dollar Baby. I watched it once in theaters and now again on DVD, and it's still as intense as the first viewing. You will not soon forget Christine Collins and her undying love and search for Walter; A true story. Five stars.
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LINKS GALORE (Links contain spoilers)
The actual newspaper articles with photos.
Christine's letters to a prison holding Walter's father, Walter J.S. Collins.
The ultra-true story and the film's omissions.
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