Caught in a nightmare

Angelina Jolie delivers a haunting
performance in Clint Eastwood’s
kidnapping drama Changeling

MOTHER SUPERIOR: Jolie

by CHRISTOPHER SYKES

You can’t get much more untouchable in Hollywood than Clint Eastwood. At an age when most would’ve packed it in and focused any residual attention on past achievement—or perhaps hip replacements—film buffs should be positively giddy the 78-year-old is as prolific as he is. Directing his seventh film of the decade, Changeling is the chilling true story of Christine Collins and the search for her kidnapped son in 1930s Los Angeles.

Angelina Jolie stars as Collins, victim not only of losing her son but also of an underhanded power system. Mired in a P.R. scandal due to corruption, the LAPD are keen to save face by any means possible. When young Walter Collins (Gattlin Griffith) goes missing, the higher-ups see it as a godsend when a boy matching his description is found halfway across the country. They’re decidedly less enthused when Mother Collins assures them the boy is not her son. Rather than admit their mistake, administration sets off a campaign of character assassination against the single mother and locks her away in an asylum. Fortunately, the good Reverend Gustav Briegleb (John Malkovich) is the one white male not to turn a blind eye.

With the casting of Jolie, Changeling was destined to be a conversation starter. The inclusion of the world’s most photographed mom in a film destined to be labelled “every mother’s worst nightmare” means talk shows will have a field day regardless of the film’s merits. The tagline is inevitable, but it’s also far too simple. As Collins, Jolie personifies every human being’s worst nightmare—that of suffering grievous injustice at the hands of those in power. Of being redacted, if you will, by the very people meant to serve and protect.

Eastwood gently coaxes forth a subtle yet heart-wrenching performance from Jolie that will surely be remembered as one of the highlights of her career. With such sombre material, a lesser director would get bogged down in the sheer darkness of the story. That Eastwood never flirts with excess or gimmicks is the greatest testament to his skills as a filmmaker. There are sure to be plenty of Oscar nominations come January.

CHANGELING OPENS THIS
FRIDAY, OCT. 31