Better than most critics say it is...judge for yourself...

Rating: 9/10 (26 February 2009)

I intentionally waited a long time to see CHANGELING (as long as three months after its release) due in large part to the lukewarm reviews it received. I now believe that such reviews were given due to Clint Eastwood's long list of recent successes. While CHANGELING is not quite as good as his latest offerings, it is still a worthwhile and memorable watch.
The style of CHANGELING (reminiscent of the 'early decades of the 20th century' style used in L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, CHICAGO and CHINATOWN) is visually stunning, and Eastwood manages to infuse an element of film noir into the Motion Picture that I happen to really admire.
The story is a quite compelling and engrossing one, as expected of films of this nature, but in my opinion, there was too much focus on the secondary story and not enough on the primary one.
Angelina Jolie's acting is not as outstanding as many make it out to be, but it is still a fine piece of work. It's just that she seems lost in the role (not in a good way) and comes off as uncomfortable with such a difficult character to portray. Her Best Actress nomination seemed undeserved when compared to other strong performances that year that didn't make the final cut (most notably Kate Winslet in REVOLUTIONARY ROAD). The rest of the acting is quite excellent, as even the secondary characters deliver solid performances, and manage to outshine Jolie in many instances.
All I'm saying is that CHANGELING deserves a chance, regardless of its reviews. If you are a fan of CHINATOWN-styled film noir, you'll probably appreciate this. 9/10. 3.5 stars (out of 4). Should just about enter my Top 200 at 198. Highly recommended.