Changeling

Clint Eastwood has really become one of the best directors working in Hollywood today. He seems to have a thorough understanding of what works and how to simply tell a story without any overbearing moral lessons or special effects. His movies are subtle, and thoughtful, and really solid. The script was written by J. Michael Straczynski (who seems to have written mostly for television in the past) and it’s very well-structured and coherent.

It tells the story of Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie, on good form), a widow in 20s-era Los Angeles whose son goes missing. Many months later, her son is returned to her, but Christine immediately realises that this is not her boy. What follows then is the tale of a mother’s struggle against corruption and a system which seems completely unwilling to help her out… simply because she is a woman.

This movie was exceptionally well-crafted. The story is immediately gripping, and the whole thing looks gorgeous, with the 20s and 30s immaculately reconstructed. Eastwood uses both intimate close-ups and sweeping shots of the city, and does the same thing with the story. What starts out as just one woman’s struggle to get her son back quickly grows into a grand critique of the LAPD and other corrupt agencies; not to mention a system biased against women.

It’s so refreshing to see a movie like this; one in which women aren’t treated as mere objects or props. Christine Collins learned the hard way of the very male-centric world she lived in, and Eastwood explores this thoroughly.

The acting is solid throughout, with good supporting turns by John Malkovich, Jeffrey Donovan, Jason Butler Harner, and others. Harner plays Gordon Northcott, suspected child-murderer, with an engrossing intensity.

I thought perhaps it meandered a little towards the end, but ultimately this was a very gripping movie, and an indictment of those in power in Los Angeles at the time. This is one of the better movies I’ve seen all year, and definitely near the top when it comes to well-crafted labours of love. Very good.