A Star Performance

Recently, I had the chance to see the movie Changeling. Of the two movies Clint Eastwood directed last year, this was the one he did not star in. Instead, Angelina Jolie stars in a role for which she was nominated for an Academy Award, and John Malkovich appears as a supporting character.

Set around the early 1930s, the movie tells the story of a single mother whose son goes missing one day while she's gone at work. Months later, the Los Angeles police contact her with the happy news they've recovered the 10-year-old boy. But at the reunion, the woman is shocked to find the child is not actually her son at all. And no one, least of all the seemingly corrupt police force, seems to believe her.

You may have become accustomed to seeing Angelina Jolie in lightweight action fare such as Mr. and Mrs. Smith or Wanted, but not so long ago, she won an Oscar for "Girl, Interrupted." This movie was a reminder that hey, she can actually act. And she really does here. On the page, this film would rest entirely on her character, succeeding or failing with the quality of the actress' performance. Angelina Jolie rises to the challenge. It's a deeply emotional performance with many peaks and valleys, and very compelling to watch.

Clint Eastwood directs a completely authentic period piece here, and captures good performances from the other actors in his cast, too. There's clever staging and framing, neat use of themes -- many marks of a well-thought out movie.

The script was written by J. Michael Straczynski -- that's the creator of Babylon 5, as I probably don't need to remind the geeks out there. And if you watched Babylon 5, then you probably know that as a writer, "JMS" can be very hit and miss. He can be capable of some of the most transcedent highs of storytelling, and almost within the same scene, can deliver the most tin-eared dialogue you'll find this side of a Sci-Fi Channel Original Movie. Fortunately, he's more in the mode of the former this time. Admittedly, the writing is not the strongest suit of this movie, but it is good nevertheless.

There are a couple flaws here and there, though. The pacing is a bit off at times. The story, by necessity, is spread out across a period of time, and the jumps in time are occasionally lacking in continuity. Different times sometimes come with themes almost different enough to feel like they come from different movies.

And then there's, frankly, the wasting of John Malkovich. He plays his part well, but it's a part that an actor of his skills perhaps ought not to be playing. He has very little screen time, and isn't given much to do with what he has other than play a "white knight" for the main character.

Still, it is that main character (and the performance of Angelina Jolie) that is really what this movie is all about, and the reason to see it. And it should be seen. I rate it an A-. It's a very well done piece.