So horrifically Depressing It's Hard to Be Objective

Rating: 5/10 (7 March 2009)

Clint Eastwood is a great director and Angelina Jolie does some of her best work in this film, but the action of the film itself is so horrible that it's hard to believe that anyone could actually "enjoy" the film. It's not bad enough that Christine Collins loses her son, and then gets a fake son, she's also committed to the county psychiatric hospital, and then we're treated to several scenes in which a psychopathic child serial killer slaughters dozens. I have to admit that I was really surprised that this story isn't more famous in contemporary culture. It's absolutely horrifying. The element of the film that I liked the best was the constant reference to the total corruption and incompetence of the LAPD. Some things never change.