Monday's Movie-Changeling

A Novel Menagerie asks us to post about a movie that you watched the week before. We usually watch quite a few movies over the weekend and it is sometimes difficult to only discuss one.

The movie that I want to bring to your attention today is Changeling.

Here are the details of the film:

Starring: Angelina Jolie, Jeffrey Donovan, Colm Feore

Genre: Drama, Action

Runtime: 2 hrs, 21 mn

MPAA Rating: R

The following is a summary from the MSN Movie Website:

Inspired by actual events that occurred in 1920s-era Los Angeles, Clint Eastwood's The Changeling tells the story of a woman driven to confront a corrupted LAPD after her abducted son is retrieved and she begins to suspect that the boy returned to her is not the same boy she gave birth to. The year was 1928, and the setting a working class suburb of Los Angeles. As Christine said goodbye to her son Walter and departed for work, she never anticipated that this was the day her life would be forever changed. Upon returning home, Christine was distressed to discover that Walter was nowhere to be found. Over the course of the following months, the desperate mother would launch a search that would ultimately prove fruitless. Yet just when it seemed that all hope was lost, a nine year old boy claiming to be Christine's son seemed to appear out of thin air. Overcome with emotions and uncertain how to face the authorities or the press, Christine invites the child to stay in her home despite knowing without a doubt that he is not her son Walter. As much as Christine would like to accept that fact that her son has been returned to her, she cannot accept the injustice being pushed upon her and continues to challenge the Prohibition-era Los Angeles police force at every turn. As a result, Christine is slandered by the powers that be, and painted as an unfit mother. In this town, a woman who challenges the system is putting her life on the line, and as the situation grows desperate, the only person willing to aid her in her search is benevolent local activist Reverend Briegleb (John Malkovich). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide


My Movie Thoughts:


This was one of those movies that really got under my skin and made me just plain mad! But it was a great story that unveiled the corruption that was taking place at the LA Police Department during this time period. Christine is a single mom working hard to keep a decent paying job that offers a promise of advancement in the future. After arriving home from work one afternoon, she finds that her son Walter is missing. After several months of searching the LAPD informs Christine that her son has been found and he will be coming home. Much to Christine's dismay, when she is reunited with her son at the train station, she realizes that this boy is not Walter. She tries to share this information with the police at the time, but they won't listen-they just tell her that since he has been gone for so long the boy has changed and she probably just doesn't recognize him. Christine does take the boy home, because the police forced her to do so, and gains the support of Walter's teachers and doctors that this boy is not her son. Christine continually confronts the police department with this information, but they will not listen to her. They eventually know that they made a mistake but if the public were to find out about this error, the LA police department would get more bad press that they couldn't afford. So the police department proceeds to do everything within it's power to keep Christine silent. The strength and hope of this one woman was amazing!

I am rating this movie 5 out of 5 bags of popcorn!