Changeling – Fighting the system for the sake and survival of family
Changeling – Fighting the system for the sake and survival of family
Rated: R Time: 2:21
Stars: Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Jeffrey Donovan and others
Final Grade: A-
Summary: This is a fairly heavy movie. When Christine Collins (Jolie) is asked to give up her day off to cover some needed work at the office, she reluctantly agrees. After all, she’s a single parent with a kid and there’s a lot of needs at home. But, there’s the guilt that follows from having to break a promise made to her kid to take him to the movies that day.
The guilt grows quickly when she returns home and finds he’s not there. He’s missing. Calls to the police are met with passive distain and when they finally take notice the ball has been rolling long enough that there’s concern if they’ve waited too long.
After a period of time, the cops find her kid and return it to her with much fanfare and press hype. The problem is, it’s not her kid. And the cops don’t want to hear about it. Not wanting any additional bad press to add to the mountains the LAPD is already getting, they assign this to Captain Jones (Donavan) who makes it his job to force the point that Collins is wrong and that she needs to accept that the kid is hers. Collins and her new found allies in the form of one Reverend Briegleb(Malkovich) fight back with physical and medical data, but at the last moments before presenting this evidence, Jones has her committed for psychological evaluation.
Well, needless to say, it’s a farce and the cops control the nut house so Jones is going to be in there until either she signs an affidavit that she’s wrong and accepts the police position and the kid. Briegleb has been on a campaign for a long time pointing out corruption in the LAPD and takes on this case as a personal vendetta.
Meanwhile, another good cop has uncovered that a nut child molester has been killing little boys at his ranch. One of the boys confesses to him of all the events, digs up remains and sets afoot a whole change of events that will eventually lead to a lot of lost sleep and heartburn in the LAPD.
This movie is based on a true series of events that happened in Los Angeles in the 20’s and will leave you not only with a lot to think about but will have you giving your kids an extra meaningful hug when you get home. Also, I doubt you’ll take that extra work at the office on a day you’ve promised to your kids in the near future after seeing this one.
I also have to admit I found it humorous that cops are still allowed to lie with impunity the way they did back in the 20’s. See my comments at http://fromwhereistand.info/2008/06/washington-dc-vacation-with-caution-%e2%80%93-the-cops-are-on-the-prowl/
I have to admit, I’m not a big Jolie fan. But I liked this movie. Not that she’s not a good actress, she is. Not that she’s not got a great body, she does. Not that I didn’t find this film interesting, I did. Frankly, I suffer from Angela Jolie Information Overload (AJIO). Frankly I’m damn tired of every time she farts it makes the front pages of the papers or the 6 o’clock news! And if she wants to be a baby factory and can afford it, well, power to her! I’m tired of hearing about it. Let’s just let her do her acting thing and continue to crank out decent films, like this one.
I’m Don Rima and that’s the way I saw it, From Where I Stand.
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This is a superb film and sadly underrated and publicized. It’s a shame that slice and dice movies become bigger box office hits than do well-acted and directed movies such as this. You can read the plot elsewhere. The acting is right on target. It’s a pleasure seeing Angela Jolie showing off her acting talents instead of her physique…and so she does. Unless I am mistaken, a film debut for Jeffrey Donovan taking a break from Burn Notice and displaying his acting talents with an ever-so-slight Irish dialect. Finally, great acting by John Malkovich sporting a tacky toupee no less. These are just to name a few. The boy actors are also terrific. I highly recommend this film for its drama and acting sake. Bravo Clint Eastwood.