Changeling

Review by Sean Lynch

If there is one thing I have learned from the cinematic disaster that was Australia, it is an understanding of the fact that just because we are told that a film is an Oscar contender, it doesn't mean it is.

It's a lesson that seems to have bypassed those behind the latest Clint Eastwood directorial bout, Changeling.

As obvious as it is that the Angelina Jolie led cast wants a Golden Statue for the film... I'm not entirely convinced it deserves one.

Based on actual events, the film follows the plight of roller blading 1920s phone operator Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie) whose worst fears are realised when her son goes missing.

However, it isn't too long until the publicly maligned police force get their bums into gear and return her son safe and sound.

The problem is... it's not the same kid.

No, it's not a case of Bold & The Beautiful simply replacing the actor - it seems the corrupt cops of San Fran have good publicity on their minds rather than justice.

Facing a skeptical public and a police force out to save their own hides, Collins desperately hunts for answers only to learn that women (in a pre-prohibition country) don't challenge the system and live to tell their tale.

Slandered as delusional Christine's life is thrown into utter disarray, with her only ally being radio activist Reverend Briegleb played by John Malkovich - who I'm still convinced is recovering from a severe stroke.

In the classic tradition of an "Oscar Contender" - the Rev never gives in his fight for "what is right".

While the concept of the story is quite engrossing, there just seems to be far to much repetition for a good part of the running time of the film.

By the time the movie starts to find it's legs (in the form of a seemingly unrelated police case in which we begin to discover the potential where abouts of the real Walter) you really are starting to feel quite frustrated by it all.

A fellow reviewer likened Changeling to Clint Eastwood being little more than "that old man who sits at the park telling a long winded story".

You know they type, where they get lost in their own words and stop every few minutes to ask the question "What was I talking about again? Oh yes, her son was missing...".

Don't get me wrong, Changeling is by no means a total waste of time - it's just not as good as it probably should be.

The second "unrelated" story (which takes quite a while to get to and is wrapped up rather quickly) could have quite easily been expanded into a film of it's own.

In a way - it actually makes you wonder if the Angelina Jolie role was initially just a bit part, which was later given a grandious expansion in order to lure a big name female cast member to the production.

As far as I can tell, the original script should have simply called for the occasional cut to the mother of a missing boy who sporadically screams "That's not my boy!".

Instead, we get a good fourty minutes of it. And that doesn't include the time the audience will know doubt dedicate to trying to figure out if Jolie is actually alive, or if she is in fact a three day old corpse with bright red lipstick lathered on.

It's in this obsession with filling screen time with "Oscar Clips" for the Jolie show reel that Changeling loses most of the pace and fun from what should have been a quite thrilling 1920s murder mystery.

That said, there are some fine moments on offer - with Eastwood proving once again that there is nothing more gut wrenching and emotional to witness in cinema than early societies archaic and horrific human fascination with Corporal Punishment.

2.5 out of 5

Changeling
Australian release: 5th February, 2009
Official Site: Changeling
Cast: Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Colm Feore, Jeffrey Donovan, Michelle Martin, Devon Conti
Director: Clint Eastwood