Changeling

I probably hold the world record in time elapsed between posts. Is this an indication of the quality of films that have come out recently you ask? Well sort of... I did have hopes that films released this summer would be moving in some way. Was I asking too much by expecting out of this world narrative cinema to be showing at my local Vue..I would like to think not. Have I had to resort to ploughing through the archives for films that may possibly have some gravitas to them... no prizes for guessing the answer to that question. Now for the review...


Director: Clint Eastwood

Changeling is a film that I should have watched a very long time ago, but unfortunately it wasn’t very high on my ‘to watch list’.* Changeling tells the story of single mother Christine Collins, played by Angelina Jolie, a supervisor at a local telephone exchange who returns home from work late one day to find her son missing. Just when you think the loss of her son would be the most traumatic part of her story, the subsequent treatment that she receives from our ‘protectors’ following her claim that the boy that they found is not her son, equals in trauma.

This true story is really one of hope and strength and a testament to the power innate in all of us. Despite the harrowing injustice and fear she faced in the midst of unbelievable grief, her actions made it clear that such circumstances would never be allowed to defeat her both psychologically and legally. Whilst I wouldn’t want to spoil the ending, the experiences that she endured were by no means in vain. Regardless of whether you’re a parent or not, the Christine Collins story positively shows that with self-belief and determination we each have the power to affect the circumstances that we find ourselves in.

*That’s because I felt the need to watch G.I. Joe and others like it first – forgive me, I was coerced