"Never pick a fight, but always finish it"

Rating: 10/10 (5 February 2014)

I expected CHANGELING to be good but, considering its 142-minute length, also expected some draggy spots. I was wrong on the second count: There isn't one dull moment here. This is one of the few films to come out in the last decade or so that I think deserves at least minor classic status. Fine acting (especially by Jolie but by everyone else as well), a riveting yet well-paced and intelligent storyline. . . just a very fine film in every aspect.
CHANGELING is frightening, provocative, and heartwarming all at once. One of the many things this story shows us is how a governmental/police bureaucracy can make the most innocent people seem guilty and the most sane people appear nuts. CHANGELING also provides a clear, immediate portrayal of the late 1920s/early 1930s, revealing how, though very different insofar as technology and styles are concerned, this period was much the same as our contemporary age.