226 out of 226 people found the following review helpful:

YES, ANG CAN ACT... SHE HAS AN OSCAR, DON'T YOU KNOW...

hunkydomste from from Liverpool, 5th December, 2008

La Jolie is brilliant at kicking butt, no doubt about it. Yet it is easy to forget that behind the action stylings of Lara Croft, Wanted's Fox or loooong time ago (but unfortunately not forgotten) Gone In 40 Seconds hides a seriously talented actress. After all, Angelina did win an Academy Award for a brilliant performance in Girl, Interrupted.

There are shadows of just that film to be found in Changeling, of course. But the leading lady's powerful performance during an enforced stint in a Psychiatric Hospital is by no means the only strong point of this Clint Eastwood directed, true story gut wrencher.

Eastwood is a seasoned director, established and respected for the likes of Million Dollar Baby or the early Unforgiven. This then, is another big credit to him. The films muted colours, sets and performances are immersing, harrowing and credible. The story is one that is so close to home with recent events, yet so unbelievable, it borders on estrangement. The point that Eastwood makes, through his film and the actors' and actresses' outstanding deliveries is: this happened. And like it or not, it was not all that long ago.

Christine Collins (Jolie) is a single mum who returns home from work one afternoon to find her son Walter has disappeared. When the police weeks later present her with a child they claim is Walter, Christine knows this is not her son. She soon sees herself bullied and forced into silence by a corrupt police department that would rather throw a woman undermining its competence into a psychiatric hospital than admit an error.

I will not spoil the film by giving away any more of the story, but it is twisting, red-herringed and gripping to the very end. Changeling is by no means an easy watch or a walk in the park, but for those who like their drama haunting and their performances powerful, this is just the ticket.

BRILLIANT.

SEE THIS IF YOU LIKED
* GONE BABY GONE
* GIRL, INTERRUPTED
* LA CONFIDENTIAL

30 out of 43 people found the following review helpful:

Jolie brilliant but subject matter too harrowing

A Customer from Shrewsbury, England, 4th December, 2008

This is apparently a true story but the crimes are so heinous I don't think the subject matter is suitable for the big screen. I certainly found this film quite disturbing. Is Clint Eastwood really so arrogant (or shallow?) that he thought he could recreate the tragedy of this story? The whole approach is so American too - the trial scenes at the end where the LAPD are brought to justice (small reward for the mother given the circumstances). Was this ending supposed to make us feel better? Admittedly Jolie was brilliant but I wouldn't recommend this to anyone wanting to relax with a film. If you want to be upset why not just turn on the radio and listen to the news?

24 out of 26 people found the following review helpful:

Best I have seen this year

A Customer from Beverley, 4th December, 2008

This film is based on a true story that took place in Los Angeles in early 19th Century. It tells the story of a devoted mother (Angelina Jolie) who was looking after her missing son, Walter Collins. The police, wishing to show some results, produced a boy, convincing him he is Walter, but unsuccessfully convincing the mother, who still insisted that the boy was not her son, and that the police should continue the search after Walter. When she refused to let go, the unscrupulous police captain (Jeffrey T. Donovan) ordered to commit her to psychological therapy. To rescue came a local reverend (John Malkovich) who was pursuing the police for corruption allegations and other illegal activities. Michael Kelly is impressive as the only honest detective who is actually trying to serve justice, not some partisan, ulterior motives. The story is tragic and painful. The cast is wonderful. Eastwood directs the movie with his usual sensitivity and punctuation. He also composed the beautiful, captivating music. This guy is something else. This is the best movie I have seen this year. If you are seeking an emotional drama that will penetrate your heart, this one is for you.

19 out of 19 people found the following review helpful:

Deeply affecting LA period drama

Daniel Pollard from Manchester, England, 3rd March, 2009

This is the unbelievable true story of child abduction, police corruption and multiple child murders in 1920s Los Angeles. It’s directed by mainstream filmmaker Clint Eastwood and stars Angelina Jolie. Eastwood beautifully captures and recreates the city with a mix of real locations and post-production CGI effects. The locations really evoke the feel of seminal historical LA films such as Roman Polanski’s masterpiece, Chinatown and Curtis Hanson’s LA Confidential. Also similar to Chinatown is the melancholic soundtrack of 1920s lounge music with affecting saxophone and piano solos. The music, combined with steam trains, old cars, art deco buildings, trams, great suits and of course, as it’s the 1920, lots of smoking, makes the period feel completely believable. The story and narrative is propelled forward by Eastwood’s classy direction, even though the film clocks in at 140 minutes. His unfussy directorial style, along with the unnoticeable CGI, lets the story speak for itself. The performances are solid, especially Jolie’s, who gives the performance of her career and should have won the 2009 Oscar for best female lead. She brings so much depth to the role and her performance is so much more about restraint and understatement than sentimental emotional hysteria Although the role allows her the scope to give a full blown over the top performance, she plays it down, reins it in, and the film really benefits from this. Overall, a hugely recommendable film despite its beak and toughness which never lets up for a second.

10 out of 10 people found the following review helpful:

Excellent

A Customer from Newport, 30th November, 2008

This film is one of the best of 2008, Mrs Jolie has one of here best performances of her career, she should win a oscar for this, supporting roles where superb, and the story for being true is brillantly told, still cannot believe this film is true. Go watch this film.

10 out of 10 people found the following review helpful:

*** May contain spoilers ***

Shocking reality portrayed beautifully.

A Customer from North Shields, 28th November, 2008

The fact that the film is about 90% true is definately worth a watch as long as it has interesting content and plot and this certainly does. What makes this interesting is that the story is so unbelievable and so extraordinary but when you remind yourself that this really happened it is somewhat disturbing. Jolie is tipped to at least be an oscar nominee and may possibly win as she moves away from her usual crash bang wollop flicks and it's nice to see that she is showing her true potential as a mature woman who can truly act and be a very genuine and vulnerable character. A couple of things that make this film great, the plot is primarily based around the loss of someone you love and coping with the loss but what's more disturbing is that the people who are supposed to protect us can abuse the power they are given and potentially destroy us. This just exploits the possibility and even the reality that this has always gone on and still does, but it's nice that this film shows one point where the police are exploited and fall. Secondly, a lot of attention has been put on Jolie but the reason this film does so well is because of the support around her that she gets. Malkovich is tremendous and brings out the bravery and courage in Christine Collins that made her fight the system. The surprising scenes with the child murders came at a great shock and sped up the film at moments where it was slowing down. Only bad thing about it was the sudden appearance of Michael Kelly's character catching a canadian boy on a farm, although this plot point is eventually revealed it was stretched a bit and added to an already very long and tough film to watch....and the 'F you and the horse you rode on' line was atrociously delivered. Apart from those small blemishes, Changeling was superb and I just could not take my eyes off it. Strong performances and an even stronger story.

10 out of 11 people found the following review helpful:

Must see

William Brown from Edinburgh, 10th April, 2009

This is a film so good that it should be on everybody's list of things to do before they die. Acting is superb and the story is so astonishing that you'd be forgiven for thinking that it can't possibly be based on a true story. But it is. This did happen. Wonderful to look at, as superbly directed as you'd expect from Clint Eastwood and just plain all round brilliant. Also reminds you of just how superb an actor Ms Jolie is.

9 out of 9 people found the following review helpful:

Made My Day

nosdog from , 30th November, 2008

As it's been a wet, miserable day, I thought I'd treat myself to the cinema - and what a treat, Clint Eastwood's Changeling. I idolised Clint when I was a teenager, but granted his success as an actor was largely down to presence rather than a surfeit of acting ability. There is , however, no disputing his credentials as a director of some calibre. The Changeling is based on a true story and concerns a mother searching for her missing son, who is duly returned to her by the Los Angeles police, ever aware of the favourable publicity it will garner their unpopular department. Unfortunately, it isn't her son. Rather than admit their mistake, the police compound this error by slandering, persecuting and eventually incarcerating the mother. A tale of abduction, serial murder, and official corruption ensues. Beautifully shot and set in the Los Angeles of 1920/30s, it reminded me of L.A. Confidential. My only criticism is it's a tad over long and Angelina Jolie (looking painfully thin) as the mother has oscar nominee written all over it.

9 out of 10 people found the following review helpful:

Changling

chixan from , 9th May, 2009

Cannot rate as the DVD was unplayable

9 out of 10 people found the following review helpful:

Changeling

A Customer from Macclesfield, 7th May, 2009

A film for the ladies only