Thursday Night at the Movies - The Changeling

This is a bit of a late post. We actually did see this last Thursday on DVD. We had planned to see this last year when it was released (we always like to see Clint Eastwood films) but didn't have an opportunity.By now you probably know the story. Angelina Jolie plays Christine Collins, a woman whose son is kidnapped. After months, a boy is found half-way across the country who appears to be her son. He is brought back to Los Angeles by the police and presented to Collins as her son. She recognizes right away he is not but the police, not popular in the city due to wide-spread corruption, need a positive story and refuse to believe her. Eventually she makes enough of a pest of herself that she is committed to a mental institution. She is released when it appears that her son was killed by a mass-murderer.

Jolie is very good in this. She is very much the star of the movie, being in almost every scene. Michael Kelly (who we know from his excellent TV show Burn Notice) plays the police captian in charge of the case.

The movie has been praised for its historical accuracy. The scenes of Jolie in the mental institution were intense. Apparently, at the time, the LA police could have someone committed with out a court order.

We liked the movie quite a lot and recommend that you rent it if you haven't seen it.