Changeling

Clint Eastwood's CHANGELING follows closely in the footsteps of his earlier Oscar winner, MYSTIC RIVER. Both films in fact centre on a missing child and can boast a dark, minimalistic yet enthralling atmosphere. But while MYSTIC RIVER was based on a Dennis Lehane novel, CHANGELING carries a particular weight because it is inspired by a true story, and one that isn't largely known. Angelina Jolie stars as Christine Collins, a single mother working in 1928 Los Angeles, when her son goes missing. A boy is returned to her months later by the police, but she is shocked and disheartened when she realizes that the boy isn't her son. Joined by a crusading pastor (John Malkovich), Christine battles for justice against the corrupt L. A. P. D. while she continues to search for her child. Eventually her fight against the cops lands her in a mental hospital, where she is surrounded by others with a similar plight. Clint Eastwood has definitely crafted another Oscar-worthy film while Jolie gives an authentic, anguished and heart wrenching performance. The rest of the cast also gives highly refined interpretations, notably Amy Ryan as a prostitute imprisoned in the mental hospital. Screenwriter J. Michael Straczynski had been best known for his work in science fiction (BABYLON FIVE) and graphic novels, but he makes an adept transition to feature drama with this film, its unusual focus on the victim and her struggle for justice, rather than on the criminal and the crime, bringing further depth to it.