‘Changeling’ film review

Director Clint Eastwood tells the sad story of Christine Collins, a young single mother whose missing son, Walter, was murdered by a psychotic murderer, Gordon Northcott. Her frantic pleas to the incompetent and corrupt LAPD led to an impostor being forced upon her as her son. Her adamant pleas to the contrary saw her thrown into a mental ward and subjected to shock therapy, while the authorities’ delays may have proved fatal to Walter’s survival.

Cast

Angelina Jolie
John Malkovich
Jeffrey Donovan
Jason Butler Harner
Eddie Alderson
Devon Conti
Michael Kelly
Colm Feore
Amy Ryan

Director

Clint Eastwood

Plot

This is the true story of Christine Collins and her search for her missing son, Walter Collins. Walter disappeared from their home in Los Angeles on 10th March 1928, and Christine has to battle the corrupt and publicity-hungry LA Police Department when they foist off an impostor on her. Interwoven with her heartbreaking tale is the story of Gordon Northcott, a bloodthirsty serial killer who kidnapped and murdered young boys, with Walter Collins among one of his suspected victims.

Verdict

A schizophrenic and disjointed effort from Clint Eastwood, but superb acting from Jolie, a typically offbeat performance from Malkovich, a chilling serial killer in Harner, as well as a stellar supporting cast (especially Donovan and the two lead child actors, Alderson and Conti) pull this one through. The film could have done with more focus and finesse, but it is ultimately a heart-rending and emotional tale that will force a tear from even the coldest eye.

Review

‘Changeling’ is based on the true story of Christine Collins and her battle against the Los Angeles Police Department in her search for her real son, Walter Collins, who had gone missing from their home on 10th March 1928. The LAPD, in its hunger for positive publicity, foist off an impostor on her, telling her that it is her son despite her pleas to the contrary.

At the same time, the story of Gordon Northcott, a brutal murderer and media whore suspected of kidnapping and murdering Walter along with up to 20 other boys, is told. Director Clint Eastwood attempts to treat all the various themes the subject matter throws up in equal measure, while telling a compelling and gripping story at the same time.

Eastwood’s storytelling is factually correct to negligible fault, but it is his willingness to give the actor his head and let him play the character with minor interference that encourages such strong individual performances. Eastwood’s directorial philosophy is based on his experiences as an actor and a movie star, hence his infamous dislike for multiple takes and over-egging the pudding.

This is not to imply a diminution of his directing input: stylistically, ‘Changeling’ consciously strives hard to recreate 1920s LA (employing a washed out, sepia-ish tone), and the story drives along with typical Eastwood strength and forthrightness. But it is the acting that is really the highlight of ‘Changeling’.

After being snubbed last year for ‘A Mighty Heart’, Angelina Jolie will surely be nominated for an Oscar for her performance as Christine Collins – her heartbreaking take on the plight of a young single mother fighting against the indifference, corruption and chauvinism of the all-mighty LAPD to regain her lost nine-year-old was tapped from wells of emotion that Jolie, a mother herself, can identify and sympathise with (digressing slightly, how ironically cold and heartless does the word “sympathise” sound in this context?).

The further agony of learning that her son was murdered and possibly tortured and sexually abused by the sadistic Northcott, and her inability to move on due to Northcott’s alternate and continued confessions to and denials of Walter’s murder, are all artfully and emotionally captured by Jolie.

Two of her most memorable and highly praised dramatic roles are recalled, as troubled model Gia Carangi in ‘Gia’ (1998) and as rebellious mental hospital inmate Lisa Rowe in ‘Girl, Interrupted’ (1999) – the parallels to the latter film are more than simply incidental, as Jolie’s character spends a good 20 minutes incarcerated in the county mental hospital at the order of the LAPD.

A close second is Jason Butler Harner, whose portrayal of serial killer Gordon Northcott was sensitive and maniacal to the point of discomfort. The superior screenwriting allowed him to express Northcott to the fullest, but the credit for every nervous tic, every eye-rolling frenzy, every gleeful giggle and whimpering breakdown must be laid at the feet of Harner. As Northcott the murderer, he is scary; as Northcott the fugitive, he is contemptuous; as Northcott the prisoner on trial, he is hateful; but as Northcott the prisoner condemned to hang, he is pitiful and pathetic, and very touching.

The standout scene must be the sequence when he is led to the gallows: the bravado which he has maintained throughout the trial and in front of the media fails at the sight of the gibbet and the rope, he has to be dragged, nearly carried up the steps. He screams “not so fast, not so fast”, pleads to the prison chaplain “I’ve changed, I’ve repented, haven’t I?”, whimpers “will no one say a prayer for me?”, and then, in a reedy cracking voice, sings “Silent Night” before the trap opens and his neck is broken. This will be one of the iconic execution scenes in movie history, right up there with ‘The Green Mile’ (1999) and ‘Braveheart’ (1995).

Other stellar performances included Jeffrey Donovan as the callous Police Captain J.J. Jones who bullies Jolie into accepting the impostor as her own son, and one of the film’s genuine moments of black hilarity comes when he tells her to take the child home and “try him out for a couple of weeks”.

John Malkovich as the fearless Reverend Gustav Briegleb, who punches in Christine’s corner, is typically kooky, and even in a serious film such as this, it’s hard not to smile at his well-known exaggerated, over-pronounced style of diction.

The two young actors who play Sanford Clark (Eddie Alderson), Northcott’s assistant and eventual whistle-blower, and the impostor Arthur Hutchins (Devon Conti) deserve special mention for their roles as well. However, for a film with the title ‘Changeling’, the role of Hutchins is not adequately explored, as Eastwood tantalises us with a throwaway line uttered by the boy: “The police made me do it!”, referring of course to his reasons for maintaining the subterfuge, without ever elaborating.

So far, no complaints can be made about the acting. But ‘Changeling’ could have done with some balance and a bit of tightening up. As mentioned before, Eastwood tries to tackle the subject matter and its themes equally, which comes across in a rather unfocused and disjointed way.

The main spotlight of the movie could have been on any of Christine Collins, Walter Collins, Arthur Hutchins or Gordon Northcott. With a title like ‘Changeling’, one might expect more emphasis on the impostor, but Eastwood gives all of the adult leads equal importance, arguably to the detriment of the overall effect of the story.

For example, at the beginning we see Christine’s emotional turmoil at the loss of her son and the arrival of the replacement, her battle against the LAPD, her incarceration and so forth; and then there is a period of time when the screen is taken over, in lurid detail, by Gordon Northcott and the murders, the events leading up to his arrest, and his subsequent trial – where Christine features very little. It feels very much like two separate stories connected by the tenuous link of Walter being murdered by Northcott: the story of Christine, and the story of Northcott.

It seems as if Eastwood tries to heap too much onto his plate, thematically as well. The concerns he raises are admirable, and would each in themselves benefit from a full treatment, but this rather disrupts the flow and balance of the movie. For example, the feministic development that Christine underwent would have seemed natural in the circumstances, had it not been derived (and stretched) in an implausible discussion with fellow inmate Carol Dexter (Amy Ryan) in the mental ward.

Although the conclusion of that chapter provokes a rousing cheer (as well as spawning the soon-to-be immortal line “Fuck you and the horse you rode in on”), it seemed wholly unnecessary in the context of the movie at large. In fact, it seems reasonable to say that the entire mental hospital chapter, while factually accurate, was unnecessary.

Alternatively, had Eastwood wanted to make a movie focusing on the chauvinist and unjust practices of the LAPD (which is an entirely legitimate take on the whole matter) while preserving the feminist David-vs-Goliath message, a great chunk of the Northcott scenes should have been left out. It is unclear, to this viewer at least, where the focus of the movie lies.

Finally, the prize for the worst, most cliched, most hackneyed and most predictable piece of dialogue of 2008 must go to the final line that Christine utters before the credits roll. I won’t repeat it for you here, but give yourself a pat on the back if you, like me, saw it coming eons before it was delivered.

These criticisms aside, ‘Changeling’ is a superb movie and the cast and director will receive ample plaudits for their respective roles, deservedly so.

~ by hanntu on November 15, 2008.