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I went to see The Changeling with plenty of 'attitude' which
wasn't fair to the movie!
I really didn't want to see the film but the guys outvoted me. I
am NOT an Angelina Jolie fan---though many like her looks, especially her BIG
lips, I cannot stand the latter and find them very distracting especially when
they are painted with 'Joan Crawford' red color lipstick!!
Neither am I a fan of Clint Eastwood as an actor or a director.
As the former I find him boring and as the latter I know his movie will be too
long, have violence and, to an extent, be preachy.
Most of all I was not in the mood for a depressing movie and
knowing a little about this one I felt it would be.
With all that working against it I found myself engrossed in the
movie and the story. Jolie does give an Oscar nomination performance but it is
all thought out, or appears to be, too much. Each gesture, movement, eye motion,
hand raising, etc., shouts, "Look at me! I am giving an award winning
performance!" And she is, making the role interesting but not really
memorable.
Eastwood is fairly unobtrusive in this as a director except for
a vivid murder scene and an over extended, hitting the audience over the head
with it, a hanging scene.
I've heard/read that he lets his actors act giving them very
little direction as he believes he hires those who know what they are doing and
lets them do it. That being the case all the actors do a good job here,
including Jolie, telling a true story in very honest terms.
I don't particularly care for John Malkovich but he, along with
Amy Ryan, give the most impressive performances in the movie. There are also
good performances by Jeffrey Donovan, Michael Kelly, Geoff Pierson, Denis
O'Hare, Colm Feore and most of the supporting performances.
As with most Eastwood movies the production design is
outstanding and true to the period and, as with most Eastwood movies, he has
written the music which at times, but not as often in this movie, can be
obtrusive.
Running close to 2 and 1/2 hours it is one of the few movies
that doesn't seem that long, moving at a brisk pace and going off on 2-3
tangents but not losing sight of the main story.
In all fairness, though I went into the movie with a few 'chips'
on my shoulder, I was glad I saw but it is not a movie I would see a second
time, that I would recommend or change my mind about Jolie being an overrated
actress!
Most of the review that I read was long and boring.