Changeling

Rating: 10/10 (15 April 2009)

The dictionary defines "changeling" as a child surreptitiously or unintentionally substituted for another, a clever title for this drama film from BAFTA nominated director Clint Eastwood. Set in 1920's Los Angeles, this film Christine Collins (Oscar and BAFTA nominated Angelina Jolie), a telephone operator come home to find her son Walter (Gattlin Griffith) has disappeared, and it is only in the morning that the police come over for descriptions and stuff. Finally after weeks the police are convinced they have found the boy matching Christine's description, but she knows it is not her son, and she is definite when she sees he is not the right height, and has been circumcised. She also gets confirmation from two people who know him well, his dentist and school teacher, but Capt. J.J. Jones (Jeffrey Donovan) thinks Christine is going crazy with her accusations of the police being wrong, they go to extreme lengths to protect their reputation, they place her in a mental hospital under "Code 12" (attacking police reputation). Eventually she is released after a young boy hands himself into the police, and confesses to helping a man commit brutal murders of young boys, and one of the boys may be Walter! After released, Christine, with the help of local activist Rev. Gustav A. Briegleb (John Malkovich) is determined to punish those imprisoned her and others under Code 12, and also the man who murdered the young boys, Gordon Stewart Northcott (Jason Butler Harner), oh, and the fake "Walter" gets what he deserves to. In one of the last scenes, Christine sees one of the young boys who escaped Northcott with the police, and he knew Walter, as he was the one who helped him escape, but he never knew where he went, it says in the end text that Christine never stopped searching for Walter. Also starring Colm Feore as Chief James E. Davis, Amy Ryan as Carol Dexter, Michael Kelly as Detective Lester Ybarra, Devon Conti as Arthur Hutchins and Eddie Alderson as Sanford Clark. Jolie is magnificent as the suffering and sometimes hysterical but determined mother, and Malcovich has his moments as the publicist against the police, and of course Eastwood is the perfect director for this very compelling mystery thriller. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography, it was nominated the BAFTAs Film Award Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Editing, Best Production Design, Best Original Screenplay and Best Sound, and it was nominated the Golden Globe for Best Original Score for Eastwood. Angelina Jolie was number 74, and John Malkovich number 59 on The 100 Greatest Movie Stars, and Malkovich was number 53, and Jolie number 1 on The 100 Greatest Sex Symbols. Outstanding!