The Changeling

I often wonder if the people who dominate the headlines today and who currently seem to be important to the history of our country will be remembered in eighty years.  Will the names of O.J. Simpson, Saddam Hussein or Paris Hilton even be mentioned in casual conversations by 2088 or just answers in a futuristic version of Quizzo that some pedantic history nerd whips out to impress his equally nerdy but less intelligent teammates? 

“The Changeling,” based on the true story of the Wineville chicken coop murders, depicts disturbing events that unfolded in Los Angeles and Riverside Counties from 1928 to 1930.  These events were highly publicized throughout the United States at that time.  In “The Changeling,” Christine Collins is a single mother who comes home one afternoon from her job at the telephone company to discover that her son, Walter, is missing.  From the start, the inept and corrupt Los Angeles Police Department treats her missing child report in a dilatory manner.  Five months later, the department delivers to Miss Collins a child that they claim is Walter.

After telling the police that the boy is not her son, an unwavering police captain convinces Miss Collins that she is mistaken and that she must accept that he is indeed Walter.   This passive acceptance is short-lived as Collins soon thereafter insists to the captain that a mistake was made.   Nonetheless, the police department cannot suffer another public embarrassment.  Through drastic measures, the captain ensures that Collins is silenced.  Subsequently, these measures outrage the community and cause upheaval in the Department.

Clint Eastwood is a master at constructing sympathetic characters.  These characters form much of the appeal of his films.  “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Letters from Iwo Jima,” are quintessential Eastwood movies, showing the horrors of the Battle of Iwo Jima by telling the same story through the equally sympathetic opposing points of view of the American and Japanese soldiers.  In constructing “The Changeling,” Eastwood employed this typical method of story building through deliberate character development.  Yet, the sympathy and interest that Eastwood conjured for his characters in “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Letters from Iwo Jima” is missing from this tale.

Even though Christine Collins encounters horrors that no mother should endure, it is difficult to become emotionally affected by her plight.  Perhaps, sympathy is absent because Eastwood failed to explore the relationship between mother and son before their separation.  Eastwood assumes that the mother/son bond is so deeply understood by the audience that the mere suggestion of its dissipation will cause people to be weepy-eyed.

Another explanation may be the choice of Angelina Jolie to play Christine Collins.  Over recent years, Jolie has become more of an image than a person.  She’s the stick figure version of Mia Farrow.  She’s Mother Teresa with collagen inflated lips.  She’s the dominant half of the Jolie/Pitt power duo.  In other words, no matter how well she played Christie Collins, she’s always going to be Angelina Jolie while you are watching her.

Without creating sympathy for his characters, Eastwood leaves the audience with only feelings of outrage concerning the behavior of the Los Angeles Police Department.  As a result, “The Changeling” turns into a two dimensional story.  Moreover, “L.A. Confidential” has already set the benchmark for Los Angeles Police corruption movies.  Even though “The Changeling” is set decades earlier, the idea is the same but less intriguing.

Clint Eastwood has previously set a high standard for movie making.  It is that standard by which I evaluate this film.  Although “The Changeling” is an interesting tale about events that captured the minds of Americans eighty years ago, the film falls short.  For any other run-of-the-mill, former MTV video director turned Hollywood flavor of the month, “The Changeling” would be a noteworthy achievement in his lame directorial career.  However, for Eastwood, “The Changeling” is simply run-of-the-mill.

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