Review: 'Changeling' another Triumph for Eastwood

Though I admire Clint Eastwood as an actor (but have yet to watch him in many of his earlier spaghetti Westerns), I have been very impressed as of late with his talents as a director. Within the last 20 years, Eastwood, now 78, has directed and starred in some of the most enduring modern American films. The controversial 2004 Best Picture winner Million Dollar Baby, for example, is perhaps the most fitting testament to his skills both as an actor and director since Unforgiven (another Best Picture winner, 1992).

Changeling, based on a true story, is yet another remarkable addition to Eastwood's directorial resume. Angelina Jolie stars as a single mother in 1928 Los Angeles whose son goes missing one day while she is at work. Months later, the LAPD claims they found her son, but the boy they bring to her is not her boy. While repeatedly explaining that fact to the police, who mysteriously turn her a deaf ear, her message is reinforced by a reverend/radio host (John Malkovich) who is intent on exposing corruption within the LAPD.

Jolie is entirely believable in her role as a mother fighting for her son's return, and one can't help but to sympathize with her as she encounters each agonizing roadblock. The cinematography is as much of a star as Jolie; Los Angeles in the late 20's/early 30's is recreated in sharp detail, from its budding skyline to the automobiles and trolleys on the street. Eastwood has said that his next project, Gran Torino, may mark his last time in front of the camera, but with Changeling, he has proven once again that he is a genius behind the camera.