A heart wrenching emotional roller coaster

Rating: 8/10 (9 November 2008)

Clint Eastwood is easily one of the most remarkable and prolific figures in film history, and age has never slowed him down. It's incredible that a man of his age continues to churn out an average of one film per year, in addition to directing everything he's been in since "In The Line Of Fire". Eastwood's dedication to creating an atmosphere of escapism and a compelling story packed with great acting is something to marvel at. His latest effort, "Changeling", is an emotional roller coaster of a film that hits in more places than it misses, and features some truly dynamite acting.
A mark of a great film is its ability or inability to expand as a story. When a film stays on a formulaic road during the entire runtime, despite how good of an experience it can be, I find that it's often forgettable rather than memorable. With Changeling, I found that Eastwood's ability to transform the film through the performances into more than just a 'mother searches for son' storyline, though most of this credit should go to J. Michael Straczynski, the screenwriter. It's like a flower that opens up gradually over the course of a runtime.
Despite having the headlining A-lister in Angelina Jolie, she's not the best performer in the film in this writer's opinion, despite giving a tremendous performance. Her work is obviously the emotional center of the movie, as the film's emotion rises and falls with her character's feelings. She does the most with what she can, and may get that Oscar nomination that many scenes see her begging for, but I feel like I've seen better performances this year (especially in the emotionally distraught strong woman character department).
The film is held up by some great supporting players, one of whom in particular gives a true powerhouse performance. Jason Butler Harner, the unknown actor in said powerhouse performance, is so effectively creepy and disturbing to the point that you'll have your jaw on the ground. Due to being a virtual unknown, he may not get the commercial recognition that he deserves, but this movie will be his audition tape for years to come for his incredible portrayal of the psychotic and unstable parts of the human mind. John Malkovich's portrayal of an authoritative and controversial reverend is spot on, as he nails the intensity of the character as well as the subdued aspects of him, especially in the end. Then there's the almost out of place Jeffrey Donovan, who is surprisingly stellar in his role as the vile corrupt police captain at the epicenter of the happenings of the third act of the film. Amy Ryan's brief turn is also worth noting. Just like in last year's "Gone Baby Gone", Ryan manages to pack a world of emotion into so little screen time.
I especially liked how the film firmly established itself as a period piece in the 1920's and 1930's. The costuming and makeup are all top notch. Eastwood's film is beautifully shot, and it had me hooked from the first shot of the movie. The sets, right down to the streets of Los Angeles, are all exactly as I would imagine them being in the time period. It was a gutsy move on Eastwood's part to film so many transition scenes outside in the streets, and it really helps the film.
If I had anything bad to say about Changeling, it would be that there are several hammy and "Oscar begging" moments that kind of got on my nerves, especially Jolie's parody inducing "I WANT MY SON BACK" speech, which kind of got worse for me when I saw who she was shouting at (I thought it was Jeffrey Donovan's character, and it totally wasn't). I also thought more could've been done in terms of developing the supporting players, but at that point I'd be splitting hairs.
Though Eastwood's latest picture is quite an achievement, I don't see it collecting all the accolades it was rumored for earlier in the year. It's a strong ride on the emotional roller-coaster of cinema, but falls short in terms of being that one 'monumental' picture of the year.