Changeling (2008)

In European folklore a creature— a "Changeling" was left by the fairies in place of a human child. A film that explores child cruelty, indifference that existed among men and women in the 1920s, the politics, the corruption, the ill treatment of mental patients and serial killings. All of this has been put together perfectly in 141 minutes. 

 Among all these, a mother has to find her son and do what no one else dared to do.

Directed by the celebrated CLINT EASTWOOD, the gripping story will get you to the edge of your seat. It may seem unrealistic and too good to be true but trust me, if it was anything less than perfect, it wouldn’t have been on our must watch list.

  

ORIGIN

This is a true story of a kidnap and murder case of “Wineville Chicken Coop” of the 1928 in Los Angeles, CA. The movie script was written by J MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI after spending years researching the story and going through thousands of pages of Los Angeles city documentation related to this case.

IMDB: 7.8

Rotten Tomatoes:  62%

Run Time: 141 MIN

RATING

PLOT TWIST: _ / 10

Well there are quite a lot of surprises but the plot itself does not have a twist. It does have its moments but again keep in mind the plot is a real life tragedy which is why it will keep u completely hooked and at the edge of your seats, such is the suspense.

ACTING: 9 / 10

Although every actor justifies the role of the character and leaves no room for flaws, my personal favorites are:

• ANGELINE JOLIE: While she might have acted in many great movies, nothing can be as good as this one, in the movie, when she is struggling to find her son or fighting against the corrupt police department, you can sense her desperation. This makes the movie even more intense and every time Jolie appears on the screen you will find yourself looking for the same answers as hers.

• JASON BUTLER HARNER: While the movie searches for a clue of what might have happened, the person responsible for the character has to work a lot as every eye on the screen is searching for him (MR HARNER). He has rendered full justice to the role and will keep you guessing on what could happen, until the very end.

DIRECTION: 9/10

This is my second review of a CLINT EASTWOOD movie and I will say the same ‘WELL, IT’S CLINT EASTWOOD”, but what is more interesting is the amount of effort that was put into the development of script by MR. STRACZYNSKI.

It all began with him preventing officials of LOS ANGELES CITY HALL from burning numerous archived documents which also included transcript of COLLINS CASE HEARING. He spent roughly 20 years in development of the script going through archived criminal, county courthouse, city hall and city morgue records which added up to roughly 6000 pages. It was given to RON HOWARD and then when he stepped down, CLINT EASTWOOD immediately agreed to direct the movie.

Universal Legal Department found the script so moving to that they refused to believe it to be true. Hence, Mr. STRACZYNSKI provided photocopies of news clipping from every 15-20 pages in the script. All this was done to make sure people knew it was a TRUE STORY and not BASED ON one.

LOCATION: 6/10

The movie takes you back to the year 1920.  Most of the film was shot in LOS ANGELES including areas like SAN DIMAS, SAN BERNARDINO & PASADENA.

BEST LINE

Mrs. Collins, I have made it my mission in life to bring to light all the things the LAPD wish none of us ever knew about. A department ruled by violence, abuse, murder, corruption and intimidation. When Chief Davis took over the force two years ago, he said...

We will hold court against gunmen in the streets of Los Angeles. I want them brought in dead, not alive, and I will reprimand any officer who shows the least mercy to a criminal.

He picked 50 of the most violent cops on the force, gave them machine guns and permission to shoot anyone who got in their way. He called them the Gun Squad. No lawyers, no trials, no questions, no suspensions, no investigations. Just piles of bodies. Bodies in the morgues, bodies in the hospitals, bodies by the side of the road. And not because the LAPD wanted to wipe out crime. No. The LAPD wanted to wipe out the competition. Mayor Cryer and half the force are on the take. Gambling, prostitution, bootlegging, you name it. Because once you give people the freedom to do whatever they want, as the Lord found in the Garden of Eden, they will do exactly that. This police department does not tolerate dissent, or contradiction, or even embarrassment. And you are in a position to embarrass them and they do not like it. They will do anything in their power to discredit you. I've seen that happen too many times to start going blind now. That's why I wanted to meet you, to let you know what you're getting yourself into and to help you fight it, if you choose to.

All in all, a film worth your while.