too richly filmed for telling of terrible, real events

Rating: 5/10 (21 February 2009)

i am about a 50-50 fan of C. Eastwood's directorial style, and The Changeling fell on the not-so-much side. it was ambitious, had great material to work w/, but i blv it succumbed to the temptation of overly-drenched cinematography and way too pretty costuming and set, especially for such a dark and real subject. it does the actual events a disservice by emphasizing so overtly stylish costuming, veiled eyes, bright-red lipstick, sepia-toned police rooms and craggy-faced character actors. just too obvious and heavy-handed. i root for Eastwood as a director, but he can rely too heavily on stylistic conventions, which detracts from getting involved in a story. A. Jolie's acting did not help, either. This can point to weak direction, but in any case, i just don't feel that she delivered on a true, raw level. it was all rather clichéd and superficial. frankly, she has never lived up to the potential she showed in "Girl, Interrupted" (in which she was the only good thing, and deserved the Oscar), and has excelled only as the cartoony, action-figure Lara Croft since then. maybe she should just leave it at that. and maybe Eastwood should stick to fiction.