Jolie delivers one of her best performances

Rating: 7/10 (22 December 2008)

'Changeling' is based on a true story. It's a harrowing account of a mother whose son disappears for 5 months but is subsequently returned to her, or is he? Angelina Jolie delivers one of her best performances, with shades of her Oscar-winning 'Girl, Interrupted' performance. In fact, her performance is probably even better in this film. However, although the film is promising at first, it devolves into a diluted hodgepodge of mystery/thriller, conventional courtroom drama, and social commentary on police corruption, civil commitment, and capital punishment. Nevertheless, Clint Eastwood knows how to spin a yarn and paces the film just right to draw you in (except the end, which is a bit overlong).