the audience applauded

A Masterpiece!

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

This movie has kind of an interesting plot premise, that a police department would attempt to substitute a different child for the mother's missing son. The concept of the changeling is fascinating and, in some contexts, spooky--but not here. The performances of Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich are fine. But the movie is blatantly manipulative of the viewer's emotions. The "kidnapped child" motif is played for all the emotional sentiment that is possible. So the film becomes just an exercise in feeling emotionally wrought. There is some plot interest, and the mother's character shows determination. It's certainly better than a lot of the dreck coming out of Hollywood, but that's a pretty low bar. I think if the movie had introduced some genuine mystery about the boy's identity, and if he was in fact the real son or not, it could have been an interesting mystery story. But as is, not worth watching for me.

For the past 5-10 years, I have enjoyed watching the supreme acting talents of Clint Eastwood in films such as Bloodwork, Million Dollar Baby, and (most recently) Gran Torino. This film, however, also cements Eastwood as not only a top actor, but also a spectacular director.The plot of the film centers on the story of Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie), who after having her son Walter go missing for a few months is reunited...with the wrong boy. However, in order to save themselves some bad publicity, the Los Angeles Police Department insists that the boy IS indeed her son and, once drawn into the lie, will do whatever it takes (including institutionalizing Collins) to make sure that the truth about her case is never known. At the same time as Collins' story is playing out, the real abductor of her son, Gordon Northcott, is being investigated for the brutal murder of perhaps as many as 20 young boys, of which Walter may or may not be one of.Like most of Eastwood's more recent films, this movie resonates with the audience in multiple ways. While watching, you will sympathize with Christine Collins over the screw-job she is getting from the LAPD, while also be horrified at the Northcott case not only because of what he did, but because he was allowed to keep doing so while the LAPD were trying to save face. Of course, you never know how much "creative license" (think Denzel Washington's portrayal of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter as a complete innocent) a director takes within a film, but in this case I trust the judgment of Eastwood. Plus, even if the LAPD were only half as bad as portrayed by Eastwood, they would still be responsible for the despicable acts brought down upon Christine Collins.Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the film, though, is the performance by Angelina Jolie as Collins. While better know for her blatantly sexual roles in such films as "Tomb Raider", "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", and "Wanted", Eastwood is able to do a complete makeover on Jolie, turning her into a character that we can all root for, and not just for her body. I gained a lot of respect for Jolie's acting talents by watching this film.In a final touch, Eastwood also infuses his own simple brand of music into the film. Whereas in "Million Dollar Baby" it was the simple plinking of piano keys, in "Changeling" it is the simplistic strumming of a guitar that provides what little dramatic backdrop is needed to the storytelling. Eastwood knows that the story alone is compelling enough, so instead of opting for a dramatic score he just keeps it simple, which was the correct choice.Thus, I recommend this film to anyone who just wants to watch a really interesting, true dramatic story. Though some of the subject matter may be a bit intense for the faint of heart, it needs to be that way in order to convey the horrific events surrounding the case of Christine Collins and her son Walter. Like nearly every Clint Eastwood project, whether acting, directing, or producing, this one will have you thinking about its events long after viewing.

Clint Eastwood has produced some brilliant work as a director. Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby come to mind.But, as with Flags of Our Fathers, he here demonstrates a penchant for going over the top.There were times I felt like I was watching a dystopian commentary on systemic corruption at the hands of the new world order rather than a period piece revolving around a humanly dramatic mystery.Much of the acting is equally excessive as Clint lingers to jab a knife into our hearts in a way that is meant to be grueling but is surprisingly shallow.Such are the consequences of the risks inherent in going deep with dramatic material. The effort is compelling even if the result is lacking in grace.Part of the problem is the complexity of the material, which seems to drift between two different story lines, both of which are given equal weight even though they are barely related, as if one is meant to throw us off the trail of the other - which results in cheaply woven mystery and a plot that loses its way.

Let's see if I got this down correctly, it's Los Angeles in 1928, a young boy raised in a single working mother household disappears while he's left at home unattended. Months later, the police desperate to keep their decaying reputation intact because their so corrupt, lazily claims that they found her child. When she confronts them and tells them that's not her child, the lazy asses say she's making thing up. When she refuses to dismiss the case, the cops end up locking her away in an asylum. While this is happening, some graphic details involving another child abduction case catches their attention feeling that the misfired details to the story is more macabre than the one's been uncovered. Why would anyone want to see this exhibition of manipulative cheapness? All it delivers here is just showcasing children's lives being threatened. In a nutshell, all that this movie stems down to is fear-mongering and the audience is just simply biting into it. From what I gathered this story was based on actual events and yes I admit it's sad that these cases do happen. However, at the same time, the movie is so one-sided it's preposterous. Aside from that the events following the case lack in anything uplifting, energetic or eye-opening or any other terminology words that the Oscar hacks like to utilize. This movie fails miserably that can't be repaired. Angelina Jolie stars as single-mother Christine Collins. She works as a telephone operator and is one of the best workers on the staff. When she gets called into work one fine Saturday she leaves her son Walter (Gattlin Griffith) at home by himself. When she returns home, the boy has vanished. Five months has passed, she gets the news that the cops have found a boy located in Illinois that suitably matches Walter's description. When she arrives that the station, she is surrounded by reporters and police who are just trying to conceal their corrupt reputation as they reveal the boy to her. When she sees the boy, she confirms that this child is not Walter. But the cops knowing they goofed still want Christine to take the child anyways. She then tries to take the case even further with the chief of police Captain J.J. Jones (Jeffrey Donovan) that even though the proof that the boy they found was not Walter, he declares that Christine has serious mental disorders. And when she refuses to dismiss the case, the LAPD have her institutionalized to an asylum. While there she's befriended by fellow inmate named Carol Dexter (Amy Ryan) who instructs her on getting by in the loony bin. Meanwhile on her side, a local Reverend Gustav Brieglab (John Malkovich) who opposes corruption stands up to defends Christine's case while the token good cop Lester Ybarra (Michael Kelly) makes a grisly discovery involving a tip about a missing child who was abducted by crooked Canadian criminal. This movie clearly is every mother's worst nightmare. When we go to the cinemas, we want to be entertained and thrilled and to chase our troubles and insecurities away. So why do we need to watch a movie where real events like this one could happen to anyone at any time? What makes matters worse is that it is so surreal to actually think the cops even back then would be so corrupt and uncaring it makes this true story feel as though the production never once took this subject matter very seriously. It just never felt convincing. Sure director Clint Eastwood's intentions were good and Jolie did quite well in her respected role and had the emotions accurate in how any mother would react when faced in this dire situation. But the film quite insufferable and very painful to watch. When the final credits roll, there was no justice that truly prevailed. No feel-good moments were delivered here and it took a ton of excruciating frustrations for common sense to get through. And then some important details that could've been utilized to good effect were thrown out the window. Like why didn't they question the neighbours who were checking up upon Walter? That could've been a potential lead, but it was neglected because common sense was nowhere to be found. After all is said and done, "Changeling" is two hours and twenty minutes of torturous manipulation that took a serious story and made very little progression to make this story enthralling.