Changeling

Objective Rating (How much merit I think it deserves):
8/10
Subjective Rating (How much I personally like it):
7/10

Again, a slightly out-of-fashion film, since the Oscar buzz over it is over and most people who want to see it have seen it already and most people who haven't seen it just don't want to see it ever. I often get these movies in the heat of the moment and then either lose interest or have no time to see them, and then after the buzz I become more reluctant so they just sit there. Until someone forces me to watch it with them. My other roommate, in this case.

The premise is quite intriguing, I have to say, and can be taken to several different directions. A single mom, Christine Collins, in the 1920's L.A. comes home from work one day and finds her 9-year-old son Walter missing. She calls the LAPD, and after 5 months, a boy is returned to her. Except she claims it isn't her son.

Now this could be psychological thriller if you are left to doubt her sanity. Maybe she goes insane during that period of tribulation and it IS really her son, but she loses her mind and can't recognize him. Or maybe aliens or some other supernatural force changes her son and people's memory. Either way, that would be a little like The Forgotten, starring Julianne Moore.

But I'll give you a hint: this is based on a true story, so nothing too unrealistic happens.

LAPD is known for its corruption and incompetence in that time period. They desperately need some positive publicity. So when a little boy is found in Illinois, they assume it is Walter and return him to Christine, forcing her to accept him as Walter because they cannot be embarrassed by the fact they have made a mistake. When she tries to speak out because her real son hasn't been found so the search shouldn't stop, she is persecuted.

The film turned out to be a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. There used to be a period when I liked human interest stories like this, but that period has passed. I still find them interesting at times, but I think I've just grown a little immune to them. There's too much happiness and sadness in the world, and it takes too much time and emotion to be affected by each little bit of them. This film, however, had other aspects of a thriller, a mystery, and unexpected twists in it that keep it going beyond the initial intriguing premise. There is a neat feeling of everything falling nicely into place.

I'm not that crazy about Angelina Jolie in most of her blockbuster roles like Lara Croft or Mrs. Smith or Fox from Wanted. I know she's sensual and dangerous and all that, but that kind of cool sexy woman who can snap your neck gets a bit old after a while. I still like to watch those movies for the action and visual effects and the fun factors, but I don't give them that much respect. In roles like Christine, or Mariane Pearl in The Mighty Heart, she seems more relevant and personal and ... real. This movie definitely makes me like her just a little bit better.

The director, Clint Eastwood, is a person of constant surprises. I mean, really, he does so many things that you would not think that Dirty Harry would do. He is a highly respectable director of films with passionate emotions and quiet contemplation combining into a mellow mixture. He speaks Italian. He wrote the music score for a lot of his films, including Changeling and The Flag of Our Fathers. The music definitely adds to the mellow reflection aspect of those movies.

Overall I would recommend this film to people who would not think of watching it. It's really more exciting than you think it would be. More emotional too. Don't be so easily manipulated by the movie into screaming at the police for their incompetence. Remember this is a movie, and things have been dramatized. But remember that it is based on a true story of real people and real events. It's thought-provoking enough that way.