The phenomenon of the actor-turned-director continues to proliferate the world of filmmaking, but few have done it better than Clint Eastwood. After the back-to-back-to-back successes of "Mystic River" (2003), "Million Dollar Baby" (2004) and "Letters from Iwo Jima" (2006), Eastwood follows up with "Changeling." In his latest effort, Eastwood does not disappoint, living up to the standards of his previous films.
Starring Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich, "Changeling" tells the story of Christine Collins (played by Jolie), a single, working mother in the 1920s whose son, Walter, goes missing one day when she takes an extra shift at work. After five months of searching, the police claim that they have found her son. But upon meeting him at the train station, Collins immediately realizes that they found the wrong boy.
Despite her pleas, Collins finds that the police are not willing to admit their mistake because they need the good publicity after a string of murders and growing corruption within the department. Reverend Gustav Briegleb (Malkovich) preaches about this LAPD corruption from his soapbox-pulpit every Sunday and sees in Collins' case a chance to expose and expel the corrupt cops.
When the officer leading the case, J.J. Jones (Jeffrey Donovan), realizes that Collins isn't going to stop until she figures out what happened to her son, he abuses his power by tossing her into a mental institution.
While this film is packed with drama, it never once seems melodramatic. This may be partly because losing a child is a devastating event for anyone and partly because the film is based on the true story of the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders. Eastwood does not stray from the facts of the case, which lends the film a gravity that might not have existed otherwise.
What makes this film especially superb, however, is the acting. This movie shows Jolie at her best, even better than her turn as a sociopath in "Girl, Interrupted" (1999). Many surmised that she was fantastic in that film because she has no problem getting into the mind of a crazy woman. Now, even if critics say she's only good because she's a mother, Jolie gives another performance that cannot be ignored.
For the first time in Jolie's career, she portrays a woman without any exterior hardness, instead focusing on Collins' inner strength during the search for her son. Her outward appearance falls apart in every manner of the word: She screams, cries, faints and throws things. The beauty of her acting is in the believability of her tears.
Malkovich's portrayal of an evangelical minister desperate to stop corruption is perfectly understated to match Jolie's emotionally draining style of acting. The film has two villains, and while Donovan does a good job playing a seedy cop, the real star is Jason Butler Harner's insane character, the murderer Gordon Northcott. Every scene Harner is in reeks of something sinister, and at the end, Eastwood makes sure the viewer feels no sympathy during his punishment.
The pacing of the movie is incredible. With a running time of two hours and 20 minutes, it never feels long, and there is not one scene that should have been cut out. Eastwood does an excellent job of keeping the plot mysterious while maintaining an undertone of bad feeling that nothing good can happen in this story.
This film proves Jolie haters wrong on every count. The performances are excellent, the cinematography gorgeous, the costumes miraculous and the direction infallible. "Changeling" is yet another hit to add to Eastwood's résumé.
