A tale of two evils...

Rating: 7/10 (27 April 2009)

Typical Eastwood fare here - serious subject, recent history period drama, bleak outlook with a touch of redemption for the leads at the end, this was nevertheless a powerful, engrossing expose of what passed for good policing in late 20's America.
Taking the film at face value, this was a convincing depiction of pre-Depression America, with some great details - the roller-skating supervising in the telephone company by Angeline Jolie's Caroline Collins character in particular was a neat period-defining touch, whilst good use is made of exterior locations, at psychopathic murderer Northcott's "chicken-coop" location, the train station where Jolie is "reunited" with her supposed son and the recreation of her suburban neighbourhood equally with the interiors at the grisly "psychiatric hospital" where Jolie is incarcerated, as well as the courtroom, police station and even the inside of Jolie's house. Atmosphere and realism are inset from the outset.
The story, almost unbelievable in its premise, but bolstered by the "based on a true story" legend over the opening titles (I'll research its claim later!) makes for tense and at times unbearable viewing as Jolie's Kafka-type nightmare almost fully envelops her and only comes into the light with the aid of an anti-corruption radio evangelist preacher and a cop who finally does his job right and actually listens to the crucial witness testimony of Northcott's unwilling teenage accomplice.
The film however suffers a bit from being overlong in places, symptomatic of Eastwood's typical slow-paced style and there appear to be three or four endings tagged on one after the other, each good enough in itself to close the film before the credits roll. I also didn't feel the dual-trial scenes worked together, Eastwood possibly posting the question about just who the bigger villains actually were here, the psychopathic killer who completely believes in Jolie or the back-covering inhumanity of the Chief of Police and his chief officer who think nothing of foisting an impostor on a traumatised mother and then unbelievably throw her into a ruthlessly run psychiatric hospital to hush her protests.
The acting is of a high standard. Early on, I did find Jolie a bit showy in her performance but she learns the less is more maxim as the film progresses, particularly as she descends into the bedlam of her psychiatric treatment where she witnesses and suffers almost inhuman cruelty and deprivation, before her release which sees her thence-forward display a telling stoic dignity in her pursuit of the truth. It's very much her film, although the support is strong in almost every other part too.
Eastwood is now very settled in his style and any viewer knows they're not going to be jolted out of their seat by anything put in their way. His skill is in story-telling and here again, with the aid of fine cinematography and an effective soundtrack of his own composition, he delivers a shocking story in a credible and persuasive way to keep you rooted, most of the time anyway, in your seat for its 160 minute duration.