Harrowing but great

Rating: 8/10 (20 November 2009)

This movie is a true story. It takes place in 1928 Los Angeles. Single mom Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie) comes home from work one day to find her 8 year old son missing. Nobody has seen him. She calls the LAPD and they mount a search. Five months later they find the boy...but it's not her son. He says he is and the police tell her to lie and go along with them. She tries to fight back and things get very disturbing.
SPOILER WARNINGS Bleak and disturbing but a powerful true movie about police corruption. It ultimately does have a happy ending (sort of) but the middle section is pretty strong stuff. Collins is institutionalized and her treatment there is beyond belief. Also murder and child abuse come up later on. Trust me--this film is VERY R rated. The 1920s are captured perfectly on film in all terms. Also the acting is just great across the board. However Jolie (in an Oscar nominated performance) is just incredible. She keeps most of her reactions and emotions bottled up but you can see the fear and anger in her face. When she finally explodes near the end it REALLY hits! There are also standout performances by Eddie Alderson (as Sanford Clark), Amy Ryan (as Carol Dexter) and Jeffrey Donovan (as J.J. Jones). It is too long and rather slow but a story like this can't be told quickly. It gives you time to understand the characters and situations. Dark but powerful. An 8.