Changeling

You have to hand it to Clint Eastwood. At 78 he is still directing films and doesn't seem to have any plans to slow down.

His latest effort, Changeling, had gotten some good ink at Cannes but many critics in the US didn't like it. But I wanted to see it anyway and was pleasantly surprised to find that it is quite a good film.

Based on a true story with a screenplay written by J. Michael Straczynski, Changeling is the tale of Chrstine Collins and her fight to find her son Walter. Christine (Angelina Jolie) is a single mother who works very hard at the phone company to provide for her and her son Walter (Gattlin Griffith). One Saturday she has to unexpectedly go into work because someone didn't show up. She leaves her son at home and tells him that she will be back the late afternoon. However, when she gets back Walter is gone. She calls the police but they tell her she has to wait until the morning. What is a frantic mother to do?

After a few months the police tell Christine that they found her son. But when she sees the boy she knows that he is not Walter. I don't want to say much more about the plot because that would spoil things. In fact, there were a few surprises for me and I liked it like that.

Eastwood does a good job of directing and the period details are terrific. Jolie is wonderful and there are other great performances as well - John Malkovich as Rev. Gustav Briegleb, Jason Butler Harner as Gordon Northcott and Amy Ryan as Carol Dexter. I won't say what their part in the story is. See for yourself.

So all in all, don't listen to the negative critics. Check out Changeling for yourself.