Technically speaking, "Changeling" is not a horror movie. Yet there are parts of the film that are far more horrifying than anything the makers of the "Saw" features and other gruesome terrors could ever imagine.
For example, a few flashback sequences depict the killings of young children. It's not done exploitatively and isn't particularly gory, at least not by modern-movie standards. And it should be noted that the movie is based on real-life events in Depression-era Los Angeles (for those who may be familiar with the material, the incidents are better known as the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders).
All that said, the film is still rough going. There are images here that will stay with you for days. Admittedly, that may be enough to keep certain audiences from seeing the movie. But that would be a shame, because it is done very well.
It's also worthwhile for another nominations-worthy Angelina Jolie performance. She stars as Christine Collins, a devoted single mother who proudly proclaims that her young son, Walter (Gattlin Griffith), "is (her) life."
So Christine is horrified when she returns home from a weekend work shift to discover that Walter is missing. When a quick survey of her neighborhood yields nothing, she calls the LAPD to report the disappearance.
However, the police don't seem too concerned — they refuse to do anything before the usual 24-hour waiting period. But Christine refuses to take no for an answer. In fact, the outspoken mother becomes a celebrity, thanks to Gustav Briegleb (John Malkovich), a radio-savvy preacher/activist who uses her case to criticize what he sees as a corrupt city government.
Months later, detectives find a boy in the Midwest who roughly meets Walter's description. But during the highly publicized mother-son "reunion," a stunned Christine announces that the boy they've delivered is not Walter.
And when she refuses to keep quiet about the matter, the detective (Jeffrey Donovan) in charge of the investigation makes threats to Christine about there being possible repercussions.
There's a lot more to the story than that, though director Clint Eastwood and screenwriter J. Michael Straczynski try to make sense of all the plot twists. There are a series of false endings, which make the film feel a little longer than its 2 1/2-hour running time.
But Jolie is convincing as the troubled mother, and the strong supporting cast also features two talented young newcomers (Griffith and Devon Conti), Amy Ryan as an asylum patient, Michael Kelly as a determined detective and Malkovich in one of his more sympathetic roles of late.
Unfortunately, Donovan's occasional (apparently) Irish accent sounds like a bad cop stereotype.
"Changeling" is rated R and features strong, sometimes disturbing violent imagery and content (shootings, as well as violence against women and children), some blood and gore, scattered, strong sexual profanity, brief drug content and references (medications, including anti-psychotics and anti-depressants), brief partial female nudity, and some suggestive references and language. Running time: 141 minutes.
E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com