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
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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
