CHANGELING (CLINT EASTWOOD, 2008)

http://www.changelingmovie.net/ 

Changeling is a 2008 American drama film directed by Clint Eastwood and written by J. Michael Straczynski. Based on real-life events in 1928 Los Angeles, the film stars Angelina Jolie as a woman who is reunited with her missing son—only to realize he is an impostor. She confronts the city authorities, who vilify her as an unfit mother and brand her delusional. The dramatized incident was connected to the "Wineville Chicken Coop" kidnapping and murder case. Changeling explores female disempowerment, political corruption, child endangerment, and the repercussions of violence. Ron Howard intended to direct, but scheduling conflicts led to his replacement by Eastwood. Howard and his Imagine Entertainment partner Brian Grazer produced Changeling alongside Malpaso Productions' Robert Lorenz and Eastwood. Universal Pictures financed and distributed the film.

After hearing about the case from a contact at Los Angeles City Hall, Straczynski spent a year researching the historical record. He said he drew 95% of the script from around 6,000 pages of documentation. The shooting script was Straczynski's first draft and his first produced film screenplay. Several actors campaigned for the lead; Eastwood cast Jolie partly because he felt her face fit the period setting. The film also stars Jeffrey Donovan, Jason Butler Harner, John Malkovich, Michael Kelly, and Amy Ryan. Most of the characters were based on real life people, while some were composites. Principal photography began on October 15, 2007, and concluded in December 2007; filming took place in Los Angeles and throughout Southern California. Eastwood's low-key direction led actors and crew to note the calmness of the set and the short working days. In post-production, scenes were supplemented with computer-generated skylines, backgrounds, vehicles and people.

Changeling premiered at the 61st Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2008, to critical acclaim. Further festival appearances preceded a limited release in the United States on October 24, 2008. The film opened in general release in North America on October 31, 2008, in the United Kingdom on November 26, 2008, and in Australia on February 5, 2009. Critical reaction was more mixed than at Cannes; the acting and story were generally praised, while criticism focused on the film's conventional staging and lack of nuance. It earned $113 million in box office revenue worldwide, of which $35.7 million was earned in the United States and Canada. Changeling received nominations in three Academy Award and eight BAFTA Award categories.

PLOT

In 1920s Los Angeles, single mother Christine Collins (Jolie) returns home late from work to discover her nine-year-old son, Walter (Gattlin Griffith), is missing. The Reverend Gustav Briegleb (Malkovich) publicizes Christine's plight and rails against the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) for its incompetence, corruption, and the extrajudicial punishment meted out by its "Gun Squad", led by Chief James E. Davis (Colm Feore). Several months after Walter's disappearance, the LAPD tells Christine that he has been found alive. Believing the positive publicity will negate recent criticism of the department, the LAPD organizes a public reunion. Although "Walter" (Devon Conti) claims he is Christine's son, she says he is not. Captain J. J. Jones (Donovan), the head of the LAPD's Juvenile Division, insists the boy is Walter and pressures Christine into taking him home "on a trial basis".

After Christine confronts Jones with physical discrepancies between "Walter" and her son, Jones arranges for a medical doctor to visit her. He tells Christine that "Walter" is shorter than before his disappearance because trauma has shrunk his spine, and that the person who took Walter had him circumcised. Briegleb tells Christine it was planted by police to discredit her. Walter's teacher and dentist give Christine signed letters confirming "Walter" is an impostor. Christine tells her story to the press; as a result, Jones sends her to Los Angeles County Hospital's "psychopathic ward". She befriends inmate Carol Dexter (Ryan), who tells Christine she is one of several women who were sent there for challenging police authority. Dr. Steele (Denis O'Hare) deems Christine delusional and forces her to take mood-regulating pills. Steele says he will release Christine if she admits she was mistaken about "Walter"; she refuses.

Detective Ybarra (Kelly) travels to a ranch in Wineville, Riverside County, to arrange the deportation of 15-year-old Sanford Clark to Canada. The boy's uncle, Gordon Northcott (Harner), has fled after Ybarra unwittingly alerted him to his visit. Clark tells Ybarra that Northcott forced him to help kidnap and murder around 20 boys and identifies Walter as one of them. Jones tells Briegleb that Christine is in protective custody following a mental breakdown. Jones orders Clark's deportation, but Ybarra makes Clark reveal the murder site. Briegleb secures Christine's release by showing Steele a newspaper story about the Wineville killings that names Walter as a possible victim. "Walter" reveals his motive was to secure transport to Los Angeles to see his favorite actor, Tom Mix, and says the police told him to lie about being Christine's son. The RCMP capture Northcott in Vancouver, Canada. Christine's attorney (Geoff Pierson) secures a court order for the release of the other unfairly imprisoned women.

On the day of the city council's hearing into the case, Christine and Briegleb arrive at Los Angeles City Hall, where they encounter thousands of protesters demanding answers from the city. The hearing is intercut with scenes from Northcott's trial. The council concludes that Jones and Davis should be removed from duty, and that extrajudicial internments by police must be reviewed. Northcott's jury finds him guilty of murder and the judge sentences him to death by hanging. Two years later, Christine has not given up her search for Walter. Northcott sends her a message saying he is willing to tell her what happened to Walter on condition that Christine meet him before his execution. She visits Northcott, but he refuses to tell her if he killed her son. Northcott is executed the next day.

In 1935, David Clay—one of the boys assumed to have been killed—is found alive. He reveals that one of the boys with whom he was imprisoned was Walter, who courageously came back to help David get through the barbed wires. David, Walter and two other boys escaped, but were separated. David does not know whether Walter was recaptured, giving Christine hope he is still alive.

I borrowed this film from my english school library, it was very difficult to understand! but I liked this film.

Anina

 ----------------------------------------------

Los Angeles,1928. Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie) es una madre soltera cuyo hijo desaparece sin dejar rastro. Algunos meses después, la policía le comunica que ha encontrado al niño, pero, nada más verlo, Christine se da cuenta de que no es su hijo. Sin embargo, está tan confundida que se lo lleva a casa, aunque exige que continúe la búsqueda de su verdadero hijo. Tachada de loca e incapacitada por la policía, por fin encuentra un aliado en el reverendo Briegleb (John Malkovich), que la ayudará en su lucha. (FILMAFFINITY).

 ----------------------------------------
"A pesar del duro trabajo de Jolie y de la escrupulosa atención que la dedica Eastwood, el unidimensional y difícil personaje no capta tu atención. (...) Estaba más persuasiva conteniendo sus lágrimas como la dura Mariane Pearl en 'A Mighty Heart'." (Manohla Dargis: The New York Times)
----------------------------------------
"Emocionalmente poderosa y con un estilo realizado con mano firme." (Todd McCarthy: Variety)
----------------------------------------
"Eastwood aterra. (...) sombría y tensa (...) Todas las sensaciones y los personajes que pinta Eastwood exhalan tensión y verdad." (Carlos Boyero: Diario El País)
----------------------------------------
"Un cuento moral con una narración perfecta pero que adolece de simplista." (Luis Martínez: Diario El Mundo)
----------------------------------------
"Eastwood firma otra obra maestra. (...) filmada con elegancia, precisión y afilado espíritu crítico." (Lluís Bonet Mojica: Diario La Vanguardia)
----------------------------------------
"Grandiosa película, atravesada de un cine majestuoso, fuerte, saturado de emociones (...) Puntuación: **** (sobre 5)." (E. Rodríguez Marchante: Diario ABC)
----------------------------------------

PREMIOS

2008: 3 Nominaciones al Oscar: actriz (Angelina Jolie), fotografía, dirección artística
2008: 2 Nominaciones al Globo de Oro, incluyendo actriz - Drama (Angelina Jolie)
2008: 8 Nominaciones a los BAFTA, incluyendo mejor director, actriz (Jolie) y fotografía
2008: Festival de Cannes: Nominada a la Palma de Oro

Hoy vi en casa esta película que cogí en la Biblioteca de la Escuela de Idiomas de Ponferrada, la vi en inglés y con subtítulos en inglés, me resultó muy complicada de entender, pero bueno, poco a poco, no hay que desesperarse. Juanma se quedó frito, jajaja.

Está bastante bien la película. 

Anina