That little miracle called Angelina Bertrand Voight

Rating: 8/10 (28 March 2012)

I don't have anything against directors shooting the same movie again and again, from different angles and points of view. Some of my favorite directors (Hitchcock, Carpenter, Kubrick) spent their entire careers doing just that.
And, fortunately, the same thing happens with Eastwood work. "Changeling" is, in a sense, "Mystic River". In another sense, is "J. Edgar". In yet another sense (the darkness, sadness, desperation and violence underlying the Charleston dancing, coke-sniffing, miniskirts blowing in the 20's US society) is a profound reflection about "In cool blood" and the manner in which the authority figures cooperate with the bad guys.
But this particular movie is not about love, killers or bad cops; it studies the way the general corruption of the official servants (call it politicians, doctors in public health services, policemen, church priests, journalists, lawyers, foreign services et cetera) simply collaborate with the pervert, abusive, molester crooks of this world. Eastwood tells us all the time: "With friends like those, the victims need no foes". Under this light, the movie becomes an essay about the lack of individual rights and guaranteed freedom that all the Western societies are supposed to grant to their citizens.
With all the accustomed minimalist mise-en-scène and a wonderful, extremely detailed makeup and costumes, Eastwood's steady hand guides the action through touching, full of emotion, many times unexpected paths.
The story progresses nos-stop; the dramatic crescendo is unstoppable and ever increasing, the camera work is astonishing and, supported by a very apt cast, it lead onto an incredible final climax (with the usual Eastwood's low-key end after the grand finale).
The movie depicts, also, a little acting miracle: Angelina Jolie's powerful character, treated here as if she were a blind, furious, devastating force of nature. She will relentless follow her objectives no matter what her enemies do, leaving them no place to hide. She's a storm, a tsunami, an vengeanceful earthquake that cries, yells and punches the evil organizations in the very heart. Will she fulfill her desires or not? Doesn't matter. The real matter is the fight, not the success.
For short: a film about our daily struggle with the stubborn, corrupt and selfish States.
Worth seeing: Positively.