Changeling is the true story of Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie) and her son Walter. Walter's father left before Walter was born and Christine was left to raise him on her own. She works for the telephone company and Walter is everything to her. On March 10, 1928, Christine promised to take Walter to the movies, but a co-worker called in sick and she was forced to cover the shift, leaving Walter, 9 years old, home by himself for the day. When she returns home, Walter is nowhere to be found. She frantically searches the neighborhood and cannot find him. She calls the LAPD who tell her there's nothing they can do for 24 hours as it's common for children to return in that period of time. The next day, the police do come out to take a report.
Two weeks later, Walter is still missing and Christine's case is gaining local news coverage. Pastor Gustav Briegleb (John Malkovich) prays weekly for her as part of his Sunday sermon. Briegleb also hosts a popular radio talk show in which his mission is to expose the LAPD for their violent tactics, gross injustices, and cover-ups.
In August of 1928, Walter has been missing for five months when Captain JJ Jones (Jeffrey Donovan) of the LAPD delivers the good news to Christine that her son has been found. They escort her to the train station where Walter is traveling from DeKalb, Illinois. Anxious to get a good word for themselves in the papers, the press is present in great numbers. When the boy gets off the train, she immediately knows it's not her son. The boy is actually a child who was abandoned by his father at a diner in Illinois over a two dollar lunch tab. When Christine voices her concern, Captain Jones is quick to remind her it's been five months, the boy has been through a great ordeal, she is overcome with emotion, the LAPD is sure this is her son and she reluctantly agrees to take the boy home on a "trial basis".
That night, she is convinced more than ever that the boy is not her son. He has no manners, he is three inches shorter, and this boy is circumcised. The next day, when she brings these facts to Captain Jones, he is upset at her and demands to know "Why are you doing this? Running away from your responsibilities as a mother. Why should we continue looking for someone we've already found?" Captain Jones sends a doctor to the Collins' residence and his sole purpose is to validate the claims of the LAPD making Christine out to be a bad mother for denying it. The story of the Doctor's confirmation makes the LA Times front page the next day. The story prompts Pastor Briegleb to contact Christine. He tells her that the LAPD does not tolerate embarrassment and that she is in a position to do just that and they will do anything they can, starting with discrediting her, to avoid the public humiliation. He tells her that he's seen it before, and though her case of mistreatment is not the first, with his help, it could be the last. She agrees to accept his assistance and begins to set up her case against the LAPD.
Her dentist examines the boy who's teeth could not possibly be Walter's. Her teacher swears she has never seen the boy before in her life. With their statements, Christine goes before the press with this information. Captain Jones sends officers to bring her in when the story hits the air. Instead of apologizing and agreeing to continue to look for her missing son, Captain Jones has Christine committed to a Psychopathic Institute for delusions and paranoia.
In the Psych Ward, Christine learns that many of the other "patients" are what is known as Code 12. They were all put in there for daring to defy or embarrass the LAPD. Christine is told that if she signs a statement that she was wrong about the boy and that the LAPD was right to commit her for psychiatric treatment, she would be free to go, but she refuses.
Meanwhile, while following up on a lead from the Canadian Mounted Police, Detective Lester Ybarra (Michael Kelly) takes a 15 year old boy Sanford Clark (Eddie Alderson) into custody to be deported back to Canada. The boy reveals that he was held captive by Gordon Northcott (Jason Butler Harner) and forced to aide in kidnapping and murdering nearly 20 young boys. Clark is able to identify most of the boys from pictures produced by Detective Ybarra and Walter's picture is among them.
With this new information, Pastor Briegleb gets a warrant to have Christine and the other Code 12 patients released. Northcott is tracked down in Canada and arrested to stand trial. And Christine, with Pastor Briegleb's help, retains one of LA's finest attorneys to bring the LAPD to justice.
Nearly seven years later, Christine is still making phone calls daily to see if any agencies have picked up a boy matching Walter's description when she receives a call that one of the 20 boys identified as having been captured by Northcott had been found. He tells the story of how he and two other boys escaped with Walter's help. They all split up with Northcott came after them. Although this wasn't Walter, Christine is able to smile because she now has hope that her boy is still out there.
This movie was brilliant, exhilarating, and left you breathless even though there were no action scenes, no epic battles, no ear-shattering explosions. It was just the story of a mother's desperate search for her missing son. Her son goes missing only 10 minutes into the two and a half hour long movie, but in that short period of time, we can already see how much Walter means to Christine Collins. The remaining two hours plus leave you drop-jawed in disbelief the entire time. It doesn't just tug at them, it grabs your emotional strings and never lets them go. It is unthinkable that these events actually took place and Clint Eastwood does an amazing job of bringing the story to the screen.
Angelina Jolie gave a flawless performance as a grief-stricken and determined strong single mother. John Malkovich was perfect as the Pastor with a Vengeance. Jeffrey Donovan was magnificent as the Captain you loathed and despised, smiling and looking so professional and proper as he spewed some of the most unthinkable words one could utter. And the kids in the movie were unbelievable. Each of them were required to give emotionally demanding performances and delivered in a huge way. Everything came together in this movie to make it one of the best movies I have seen in a long time and you had better believe this movie is making my DVD collection. But what movie will be on my mind next? We shall see . . .
Two weeks later, Walter is still missing and Christine's case is gaining local news coverage. Pastor Gustav Briegleb (John Malkovich) prays weekly for her as part of his Sunday sermon. Briegleb also hosts a popular radio talk show in which his mission is to expose the LAPD for their violent tactics, gross injustices, and cover-ups.
In August of 1928, Walter has been missing for five months when Captain JJ Jones (Jeffrey Donovan) of the LAPD delivers the good news to Christine that her son has been found. They escort her to the train station where Walter is traveling from DeKalb, Illinois. Anxious to get a good word for themselves in the papers, the press is present in great numbers. When the boy gets off the train, she immediately knows it's not her son. The boy is actually a child who was abandoned by his father at a diner in Illinois over a two dollar lunch tab. When Christine voices her concern, Captain Jones is quick to remind her it's been five months, the boy has been through a great ordeal, she is overcome with emotion, the LAPD is sure this is her son and she reluctantly agrees to take the boy home on a "trial basis".
That night, she is convinced more than ever that the boy is not her son. He has no manners, he is three inches shorter, and this boy is circumcised. The next day, when she brings these facts to Captain Jones, he is upset at her and demands to know "Why are you doing this? Running away from your responsibilities as a mother. Why should we continue looking for someone we've already found?" Captain Jones sends a doctor to the Collins' residence and his sole purpose is to validate the claims of the LAPD making Christine out to be a bad mother for denying it. The story of the Doctor's confirmation makes the LA Times front page the next day. The story prompts Pastor Briegleb to contact Christine. He tells her that the LAPD does not tolerate embarrassment and that she is in a position to do just that and they will do anything they can, starting with discrediting her, to avoid the public humiliation. He tells her that he's seen it before, and though her case of mistreatment is not the first, with his help, it could be the last. She agrees to accept his assistance and begins to set up her case against the LAPD.
Her dentist examines the boy who's teeth could not possibly be Walter's. Her teacher swears she has never seen the boy before in her life. With their statements, Christine goes before the press with this information. Captain Jones sends officers to bring her in when the story hits the air. Instead of apologizing and agreeing to continue to look for her missing son, Captain Jones has Christine committed to a Psychopathic Institute for delusions and paranoia.
In the Psych Ward, Christine learns that many of the other "patients" are what is known as Code 12. They were all put in there for daring to defy or embarrass the LAPD. Christine is told that if she signs a statement that she was wrong about the boy and that the LAPD was right to commit her for psychiatric treatment, she would be free to go, but she refuses.
Meanwhile, while following up on a lead from the Canadian Mounted Police, Detective Lester Ybarra (Michael Kelly) takes a 15 year old boy Sanford Clark (Eddie Alderson) into custody to be deported back to Canada. The boy reveals that he was held captive by Gordon Northcott (Jason Butler Harner) and forced to aide in kidnapping and murdering nearly 20 young boys. Clark is able to identify most of the boys from pictures produced by Detective Ybarra and Walter's picture is among them.
With this new information, Pastor Briegleb gets a warrant to have Christine and the other Code 12 patients released. Northcott is tracked down in Canada and arrested to stand trial. And Christine, with Pastor Briegleb's help, retains one of LA's finest attorneys to bring the LAPD to justice.
Nearly seven years later, Christine is still making phone calls daily to see if any agencies have picked up a boy matching Walter's description when she receives a call that one of the 20 boys identified as having been captured by Northcott had been found. He tells the story of how he and two other boys escaped with Walter's help. They all split up with Northcott came after them. Although this wasn't Walter, Christine is able to smile because she now has hope that her boy is still out there.
This movie was brilliant, exhilarating, and left you breathless even though there were no action scenes, no epic battles, no ear-shattering explosions. It was just the story of a mother's desperate search for her missing son. Her son goes missing only 10 minutes into the two and a half hour long movie, but in that short period of time, we can already see how much Walter means to Christine Collins. The remaining two hours plus leave you drop-jawed in disbelief the entire time. It doesn't just tug at them, it grabs your emotional strings and never lets them go. It is unthinkable that these events actually took place and Clint Eastwood does an amazing job of bringing the story to the screen.
Angelina Jolie gave a flawless performance as a grief-stricken and determined strong single mother. John Malkovich was perfect as the Pastor with a Vengeance. Jeffrey Donovan was magnificent as the Captain you loathed and despised, smiling and looking so professional and proper as he spewed some of the most unthinkable words one could utter. And the kids in the movie were unbelievable. Each of them were required to give emotionally demanding performances and delivered in a huge way. Everything came together in this movie to make it one of the best movies I have seen in a long time and you had better believe this movie is making my DVD collection. But what movie will be on my mind next? We shall see . . .
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