"Yours is a story with a happy ending, Ms. Collins. People love happy endings."

Rating: 8/10 (28 March 2020)

I liked it slightly less on this rewatch. Not because it's long or because there's too much/not much going on. It's because there are certain moments where the film is catering to the audience, making the viewers feel outraged when the main character is wronged or content when something goes the way it should. Not that it's a big issue but this subjective approach becomes a little too intruding at times. Maybe the script is too self-indulgent or maybe that's just Eastwood being Eastwood and over-directing. Talking about Eastwood being Eastwood, his score for this movie is quite galling, that same piano piece playing throughout the movie to the point of suffocation.
Nevertheless, Changeling is a magnificently crafted film, with pristine cinematography and marvelous production design, giving palpable life to a world set in Los Angeles in the first half of the twentieth century. The acting is good across the board, with stand outs Angelina Jolie as a mother fighting to find her missing child and Michael Kelly as a detective who works on the case. Based on true events, the story is interesting and intense, touching on many aspects of the life back in the day in LA, like gender inequality, political abuse and police corruption. Great movie.
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