CHANGELING

Director: Clint Eastwood
Cast: Angelina Jolie
Changeling directed by Clint Eastwood, and set in 1928, is the compelling story of Christine Collins, a telephone company supervisor and single mother, played by Angelina Jolie, who returns from work one day to find that her nine-year-old son has vanished. Despite repeated and tireless efforts on her part to find him, she remains unsuccessful but still unwilling to give up her search, until five months later the Los Angeles Police Department announces that they've found the kid. Only problem is, the boy identified and returned to her is not her son, she insists.
Starting out as a 'lone-woman-versus-the-corrupt-system drama', Changeling metamorphoses into something of a psychological thriller along the way. There are courtroom showdowns, grisly flashbacks and more tearful reunions. Not only does all of this dilute the film's most solid themes of wronged innocence and unaccountable power, it also makes Changeling an exceedingly long movie to watch. The most crippling blow, however, comes in the form of Angelina Jolie's disappointing performance as the distressed mother. Jolie is too restrained, too collected even in the film's more dramatic portions, and is never convincing when she's meant to convey panic or horror over her situation.
Nevertheless, there's an inherent nobility in Changeling, invested by the film's director Clint Eastwood, who shoots the film with warmth and dignity, and recreates Los Angeles of the 20s and 30s with undeniable accuracy. Despite its many flaws, you can recognise immediately why Changeling is still such a worthy watch -- because it's a film that stresses the importance and need for hope, for courage under fire.
I'm going with three out of five for Changeling, it may be unfocused in its plot, but its message is loud and clear. Watch it because it's one of those films that you won't easily get out of your head.