Changeling

Considering her introduction to fame as a decidedly "bad girl" of acting, the transformation of Angelina Jolie from reckless freak show to glamorous Hollywood royalty has been an especially surprising thing to behold. Hollywood is a place of constant makeovers (both physical and psychological), but the Jolie metamorphosis remains a unique occurrence even by Hollywood's extreme standards. One moment she's making out with her brother and wearing a vial of then husband Billy Bob Thornton's blood around her neck, the next moment she's adopting children from Africa and joining the United Nations as a Goodwill Ambassador. But all of that strangeness aside, perhaps what is most exciting about this transformation is that Jolie's acting abilities have matured along with her public image. She has gone from action hero to bona fide leading lady and her towering talent is once again on display in Clint Eastwood's troubling and troubled Changeling.

Jolie plays nurturing single mother Christine Collins, whose best friend is her ten year old son Walter. The opening scenes of the movie effectively illustrate the touching, honest relationship between mother and son, as they perform their daily routines with loving interaction. These initial moments between Christine and Walter invite us into their world and nicely set the stage for what is to come. Because we are offered a glimpse of their lives and are given the time to grow fond of them, it is genuinely disconcerting when Christine returns home from work one Saturday to find Walter missing. Even though the police tell Christine that they do not consider missing child cases until the child has been gone for twenty-four hours, we (along with Christine) know that something is wrong right from the start. Walter does not return home the next morning and so Christine grows increasingly terrified of the possibilities.

After nearly six months, the police claim to have found Walter and lots of media attention is heaped upon the reunion of mother and son. But upon meeting the boy who claims to be Walter, Christine fervently insists that he is not her son. Despite mounting evidence and Christine's constant claims that Walter is still missing, the police refuse to accept the possibility that they returned the wrong boy. What follows is Christine's fight to uncover the truth and the police department's refusal to cooperate.

Changeling is based on a true story and the reality behind Walter's disappearance is severely disturbing. Watching the pieces of the puzzle fall into place is intriguing and Jolie's ability to bend the terror into a tangible force makes the movie work overall. But Eastwood's direction is a contradictory effort, giving the movie necessary dramatic emphasis, while simplifying the emotional aspects of the story through grand manipulation. With such a frightening and heart wrenching tale to work with (and a more than capable actress to direct), Eastwood should have taken the story down a more subtle path. Instead, he paints a picture of a world where the heroes are defined by their extreme innocence and the villains are pure, unadulterated evil (though to be fair, they do come in a variety of evil types, ranging from crazy evil to cocky evil).

Eventually, Eastwood and screenwriter J. Michael Straczynski collectively grind the narrative to a halt when they stretch the ending to include every piece of information worth knowing in the real-life case. While it may be important to some viewers to see every last shred of detail played out on screen, I felt that the lengthy third act robbed the movie of its potentially startling impact. By the movie's end, the big unveiling of the initial truth feels far too distant, lost somewhere in the midst of a seemingly unending conclusion.

But Eastwood still knows how to command the attention of his audience and, with Jolie at his side, he has made a movie that succeeds in spite of its faults. Credit for this must also go to cinematographer Tom Stern, who has captured the look of 1920s Los Angeles with breathtaking precision. Every image in the movie has a flavour and each frame combines to create a delicious visual experience.

Changeling marks the second time in two years that I feel Angelina Jolie has provided a powerful performance that is the greatest asset of the movie in which she stars. Last year, she was exceptional in A Mighty Heart, playing the role of impending widow Marianne Pearl. Now her performance as Christine Collins buzzes with similar authenticity. Once most famous for her strange actions, Jolie has blossomed into a very talented actor, her glowing presence a positive light in the darkness of a movie theatre.