Michelle SweeneyReview - Changeling
March 11th 2009 12:41
Set in 1928, Changeling is shockingly based on a true story and stars Angelina Jolie. Nominated for both a BAFTA and an Oscar, Angelina relishes in the role of Christine Collins, a single mother whose son goes missing from their home. Reporting the absence to the police, they put out a country wide search for Christine's son Walter.
Afraid that the police will stop looking for her son, she makes her claims to the police department that the boy returned to her was definitely not her son.
Christine Collins: He's three inches shorter; I measured him on the chart.
Capt. J.J. Jones: Well, maybe your measurements are off. Look, I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for all of this.
Christine Collins: He's circumcised and Walter isn't.
Capt. J.J. Jones: Mrs. Collins, your son was missing for five months, for at least part of that time in the company of an unidentified drifter. Who knows what such a disturbed individual might have done. He could have had him circumcised. He could have...
Christine Collins: ...made him shorter?
Captain JJ Jones (Jeffrey Donovan) who is in charge of the Collins case even goes so far as to claim that she is denying the boy is hers in order that she can avoid her motherly responsibilities.
It would be laughable except for the fact that it is based on a true incident in 1928 where the police did in fact try to pass off a boy to be the son of Christine Collins. Stranger than fiction indeed. The drama unfolds in a compelling way and Christine stands her ground with the police department who eventually commit her to the county mental hospital. During her incarceration it becomes clear that the police have a habit of committing disobedient women who challenge the authority of the police.
Christine Collins' tale is played out alongside the police hunt of a serial killer in California although gradually the two stories mesh forever connecting the Collins family to the true to life Wineville Chicken Coop Murders.
Angelina plays the role convincingly and is deserving of her performance nominations. The cinematography and art direction is superb and the movie flows together quite seamlessly with Angelina at it's helm.
Voyage Review: 4/5
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