Changeling - B-

In theaters. Rated R, 140 minutes. Trailer.

After a weird turn in the horrid Wanted, Angelina Jolie returns to actual movies as Christine Collins in Clint Eastwood's Changeling. Essentially a mash up of A Mighty Heart, Girl Interrupted, Carnivale, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, and LA Confidential, this film had the potential to be great, but failed to strike any chords. The true story that the film is based on is fascinating: after Collins' 9 year old son disappears, the LAPD, desperate for positive PR, tries to 'solve' the crime by telling her they found her son and giving her a boy she immediately insists is not hers. Click below for more on CHANGELING:

I am a sucker for noir, mental hospitals and serial killer movies, and this didn't work for me despite checking all three of those boxes. Clint's direction has never sat well with me, and here he has created a beautiful green tinted recreation of the 20's (with startingly accurate recreations of the era), but he loses and vigor in the story and instead makes the whole thing feel like a wet blanket.

After Collins won't go along with the police's scam (what mother would?), they lock her up in the mental hospital to try and gain her silence. These scenes are typical mental hospital scenes with a cliched 'hard scrabble' character played by Amy Ryan. After Collins gains release and the story all comes out, there are a series of 'revenge' scenes and then a decent ending to the story. Along the way John Malkovich (as a local pastor trying to weed out LAPD corruption) assists Collins and adds a minor spark to the film. Had they focused more on this aspect, the film could've been great.

My main issue with the movie is that everything was just so obvious. I prefer shades of grey to clear cut resolutions and feel good 'atta girl' moments. Jolie is great in the difficult role, and her look as a 20's gal is perfect.

I will give Clint points for a well executed hanging scene, from start to finish, which I don't think I've seen in a film before.