Changeling

Tony Rivetti Jr./Universal Pictures
Angelina Jolie in "Changeling."

Eastwood remains one great director

March 20, 2009 Weekender

You are pretty much certain if Clint Eastwood is involved in a film, it will be pretty good.

The guy is 78, a time in which many artists have discovered their best work is long gone.

But Eastwood continues to churn out quality stuff, one of the most recently being "Changeling."

Wow! And it is based on a true story.

First off, the film takes place in the 1920s and 30s and you can just absorb the authenticity.

It starts in 1928 but main character, Christine Collins, in many ways is a modern woman, just wearing shapeless clothing of the period and unbelievably red lipstick, at least in Blu-ray.

Played by Angelina Jolie, Collins was a single mother who was a telephone operator. In fact, before her tragic story unfolds, she is offered a supervisory position, even though her boss admitted he was getting heat for even considering a woman.

(Note the supervisory job is so intense, she is required to wear roller skates to quickly get from one side of the room to the next.)

When she must go to work unexpectedly one night, she settles her young son Walter (Gattlin Griffith) in for the night and tells him to see the neighbor if he has any problems.

When she gets home, Walter is gone. She eventually calls police and a few months later, they say they have good news, Walter has been found.

She immediately says it isn't her son, but police say kids change rapidly at that age and it is indeed her boy.

So what can she do? She takes the boy home but discovers he isn't circumcised. Walter is. This boy is three inches shorter than Walter was when he left. His teacher doesn't recognize him. The boy doesn't know where his desk is at school. The dental records don't match.

Armed with this information, Collins confronts authorities. But the police are plagued by allegations of corruption by the Rev. Gustav Briegleb (John Malkovich), who has his own radio show. They aren't about to lose face after “solving” this high-profile kidnapping case.

So they throw Collins in a mental hospital where the key to leaving is admitting the new “Walter” is her son and she had been delusional.

She isn't the only “political” prisoner in this gripping drama. Others are drugged and undergo horrible shock therapy.

Meanwhile, a more sensitive detective, Ybarra (Michael Kelly), hears a fascinating story from a young man who tells of being kidnapped and helping a depraved man kill and bury 20 boys at a chicken ranch. The boy identifies Walter as one of the victims.

But there is more to the tale then this. The scandal is so pervasive, the community actually changed its name because of bad publicity.

The scenes, the costumes, the sets, the story all make for an eerie, top-notch movie experience.

You won't believe "Changeling" could have happened, but it did.

CHANGELING

Directed by Clint Eastwood

Written by J. Michael Straczynski

Runtime: 141 minutes

Rated R for violence, disturbing content

4 stars out of 5