Changeling (R-2009)

"Changeling", while being sort of slow and just a little long, is an incredibly fascinating and riveting tale. Christine Conner (Angelina Jolie) is a struggling single mother in 1920s Los Angeles, trying to balance her career and raising her son. She returns home from work one day and her son is missing. When she can not find him anywhere, she gets the police involved and this is where the story gets to be really amazing. In the backdrop of this story, you have a radio preacher (John Malkovich) railing about the corruption and incompetence of the LAPD. So, the LAPD finds itself needing a victory. When a boy turns up claiming to be the Conner boy, the police immediately announce he has been found and have full press coverage to show him reunited with his loving mother. The only problem? He is not her son. She mentions this pretty early and the police convince her "maybe he's changed" in the weeks he's been missing and she takes him home. She learns pretty quickly that it is not possible for him to be her son (which she really already knew), but the police don't want any part of it. They can't "flub" their big victory, can they? The movie follows her struggle to make things right and find her real son. There is a major plot twist about halfway through which takes this madness in an entirely new direction. If this were not very closely based on a true story, the things that transpire would be simply difficult to believe. Her battles with the LAPD and the lengths they go to discredit her are horrifying. Clint Eastwood has proven to be a major talent as a director and a fantastic storyteller. The acting in this movie is nothing short of brilliant, starting with Jolie. It is hard to believe that Jolie got the only Oscar nomination for this film. Eastwood and the film itself should also have been nominated.

Grade: A+

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