An engaging and professional drama despite the misgivings

Rating: Null/10 (26 March 2009)

Awards season carries with it a raft of films that are "Oscar-worthy" and all tend to be released in the UK during January and February. I understand the reasons for doing this but sadly it is not for the sake of the viewer because most cinema goers do not want a glut of films in one month and then nothing till the summer time but then I suppose awards = money and this is what the studios want. Changeling came out in the UK at the fore of this season (in November/December I think) so I managed to catch it then and did so with Oscar hype and awards chatter in my ears. I managed to block out a lot of this though as I have been burnt before and I came to the film with little knowledge of the plot and not quite sure what to expect from it.
Perhaps this helped me because I do seem to have enjoyed the film more than some other viewers here. What I found was a quite engaging drama that is helped by its "true story" tag but is solid enough to stand up on its own regardless. The whole narrative is charged with injustices and emotion and it is hard not to care as events unfold  I was quite held by it and I can't see the view of those that say it was dull. The downside of the film is that, while the events grip, the emotional heart of the film is surprisingly cold, with the viewer putting in most of their feelings and the film coasting on this. By nature of the story the viewer will bring a lot to the table and I did feel that the film coasted on this to a certain degree. This does hurt it because the lack of that on the screen does perhaps contribute to some viewers not being drawn in by it.
Eastwood's direction is part of it as it is a bit too clinical  it makes it feel of the period perhaps but the cold edge is the con to that pro. Likewise the casting of Jolie. I agree with Eastwood's comment that her "look" fits the period, because her face certainly does, however this is not enough and I found her performance to be a bit lacking  not bad but just "ok" with "give me an award" moments in there as well. One can easily imagine what a better and more able actress could have done with the material. The rest of the cast are solidly good in the same way  with nobody really setting the world on fire but yet plenty of recognisable faces and names doing good work in smaller roles. The film belongs to Jolie though and, on the basis of that ownership one can understand why she was nominated for her Oscar while, at the same time, seeing why she didn't actually deserve to win it either.
The liberties with factual detail did not bother me at the time of viewing (as I didn't know the story at all) and didn't after I read up about them (I try to see "true" films as an entry level summary rather than fact) and generally I did find the film to be engaging and professionally made across the board (acting, sets, direction). The problem with it is that it is quite cold and it doesn't produce people so much as it does events. These events are sufficient to make for a good film but the lack of more prevents it being more than this.