One decision can change a life forever
I’ve always been fascinated with the 1920-30s era. I think that there were some drastic changes on the horizon for America. The shift from a lawless west to a respectable city environment was only 30 years in the making. For that type of change, it was extremely dramatic. Seeing a budding Los Angeles going through some growing pains is even equally as dramatic. So the movie begins with the introduction of a corrupt, roughneck LAPD trying to find some morsel of goodness to save it’s grace. It’s subtle message, mainly through a shot of the newspaper or what’s on the radio. It’s very clear that there is a great amount of distrust for the police force, so much so that people are nearly begging for a change. As that mess is going on, there is a single mom named Christine Collins who is raising her son, Walter, as she is trying to maintain a household and job. She’s thin, stressed, but sacrificial when it comes to getting ahead and providing a good life for her boy. When she gets called out one night to cover a shift for a co-worker, she comes home to an empty household. Her son Walter is missing. Frantic, she calls the LAPD, who then proceed to spend months on her case. One lucky day, she gets a phone call saying that they’ve found her son, but it ends up being false hope as the boy they found isn’t her son. Not wanting to look bad, the LAPD forces the boy into her small family and doesn’t admit to making a mistake. Christine must now go against a corrupt, PR suffering department to prove that the boy they found isn’t her son and that her son is indeed still missing.
Just writing this brings back roller coaster emotions that have bothered me since the viewing of this film. It’s no secret around this site that I’m not a huge fan of Jolie. I haven’t been able to stand her since Tomb Raider. Typically, she’s cast as a big-boobed, sexy woman, but she brings much more to the table than that shallow typecast. In Changeling, she truly takes on the role as the mother/father figure and brings a strong presence to her character. For someone in the 1920s, she’s incredibly courageous standing up against men and the LAPD. Jolie plays the caring mom, the tough mother and the hurt parent. Her character even grows stronger as you realize how much she is suffering from the absence of her only other family member. It’s quite sad, triumphant and powerful to watch her perform. I’m sure the fact that she has like 20+ kids has a lot to do with the preparation for this type of role, but it’s still quite stunning to see someone pull it off so well. This movie was the movie where I have a ton of respect for her acting ability. She is just perfect as Christine Collins.
As for her supporting cast members, I have to ask this question, “Is anyone creeped out by John Malkovich as much as I am?” Something about his demeanor and delivery which just makes me think he’s a creepy man. He plays Reverend Gustav Briegleb, someone who is praised by the Los Angeles community and someone who is critical of the LAPD methods. Throughout the entire film I kept thinking that there is something seriously flawed about his character. It was as-if there was a looming, dark secret that was going to be revealed about him. It turns out, not to spoil it for you, it’s just his delivery and looks. He’s a gracious, caring character that helps Collins expose the LAPD for what they are. He sits with Collins through her entire ordeal, he’s pretty enjoyable once you figure him out. Now, the antagonist of the group, Captain J.J. Jones (played by Jeffrey Donovan) is quite the a-hole. He’s forceful and deceiving, and Donovan plays him well. He doesn’t let up, even when his character begs to let up, and rides the movie on the same level of irritation and anger. It’s impressive to see someone this steady when it comes to character development. I absolutely loved his a-hole demeanor. Finally, we come to Michael Kelly’s Detective Lester Ybarra. Kelly’s most famous role, one which most people know him by, as the ruthless security guard in Dawn of the Dead. When you see him, you think that he’s going to go along those same lines, but his character actually goes against the LAPD system (skeptically) and wins out in the end. You’ll hate him and then just simply adore his ethics.
So, I didn’t know this was a Clint Eastwood film. He comes out with films so often these days that this one somehow slipped by me. Eastwood knows how to direct and how to get people to act. He creates worlds with such vividness, such depth that you can’t help to fall in love with them. In this movie, he especially creates strong characters. You’ll be able to relate to them and feel what they feel. He focuses so much on their development that you forget that it’s Angelina Jolie or that it’s John Malkovich (although he’s still creepy). He defines this characters by their own character and really delivers powerful performances because of this. It’s absolutely a treat to watch them come to life on the screen. It’s borderline profound. He knows how to make movies.
No doubt that it’s blu
I can’t get over how well the era looks on high-definition. The video is so clean and vivid that you’ll swear that you’ in 1928 Los Angeles. It’s probably so vivid that you can’t see the smog (I’m just kidding). The HD picture does look very good, no artifacts at all. The colors that existed in that time period really shine through. You get the very dull browns, the over-exposed Red and the fantastic green. The blacks/whites really shine well on this Blu-ray, too. As for the audio, just as good as what you can get in the theaters. The technology to sweeten both the audio and video have come a long way. Universal’s BDA group truly did a very professional job on getting the consumer their money’s worth.
As for features, it lacks in quantity, but dishes up plenty of quality. Here’s what you get:
– Partners in Crime: Clint Eastwood and Angelina Jolie
– The Common Thread: Angelina Jolie becomes Christine Collins
– Picture-in-picture commentary
– Los Angeles: Then and now
– Archives (BD-Live)
I believe that the features are just as good as the film. You’ll get a powerful couple of featurettes with Jolie and Eastwood. You’ll also get some fantastic BD-Live stuff, but you shouldn’t visit that until you watch the film.