In the Dark – Changeling
January 6, 2009
Genre: Drama
Tagline: To get her son back she did what no one dared.
Ebert gave it:
How do you know when a movie will get an Oscar nomination and the director will be a front runner when the nominations come out? Well, besides the Golden Globe nominations already coming out…? When Clint Eastwood is the director, the movie has a powerful and emotional plot and there is a strong female lead (I know Mystic River didn’t have the last one…but 3 strong males is good enough). Eastwood likes to direct movies about women who don’t give up, women who have something to fight for and movies that twist and turn to keep you on an emotional rollercoaster and the ending in the dark.
The Changeling is set in the 1940s, and opens on ___ (Jolie) and her son Walter. As a single mom she works hard as an operator at a telephone company (where she gets to wear rollerskates AND dark lipstick everyday!). One day she gets called into work last minute with no one to take care of Walter. Upon her return he’s gone, sending her into a spiral of sadness and the only thing keeping her going is the search for her son. In an election year, the police chief miraculously finds her son – a few inches shorter, heavier, and with a few other things out of order. Instead of being happy for the replacement she fights harder – landing her in the mental ward being threatened with shock treatment and being turned into a vegetable. Lucky for her she has a friend in the fight, a minister Rev. Gustav Briegleb (Malkovich) who preaches her story to everyone.
Along the way we meet other evil beings, Gordon Northcott (Jason Butler Harner) for example who keeps the audience guessing until the very end, which trust me, will keep you on your toes till the credits roll.
The unique thing about The Changeling isn’t the amount of pain and distress you as an audience member feels, but who you feel things for. I’m keeping this post short because I don’t want to ruin anything.
My Rating: 
I give it 2 flasks, mainly for making me feel feelings that movies rarely evoke, plus Jolie gives a phenomenal performance as a grieving yet hopeful mother. This movie is a definite nominee for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress.
