Thursday, February 12, 2009

Changeling DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Eastwood DVD Revisits Mysterious 1928 Kidnapping

When a movie opens with an absolute assurance that what you’re about to watch is “A True Story” you certainly expect to see a drama far more credible than this patently absurd tale which doesn’t even pass the smell test.
Perhaps, if director Clint Eastwood had qualified the claim with words like “Based upon” or “Inspired by,” the picture’s preposterous premise might have been a bit easier to swallow.
The point of departure is March 9, 1928, which is when we are introduced to Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie), a single-mom raising a nine year-old (Gattlin Griffith) in the City of Los Angeles. By profession, Christine roams around the floor of the phone company on roller skates as the supervisor of a bank of operators.
The plot thickens the fateful Saturday she agrees to fill-in for a co-worker, leaving little Walter home alone. By the time she returns after the shift, the boy has vanished without a clue, so she calls the police to file a missing persons report.
Several months later the cops claim to have solved the mystery, and announce that Walter’s been found alive and well. However, Christine’s hopes are soon dashed when the child returned to her is an impostor (Devon Conti) who is four inches short than her son.
Now, this is where the movie starts to make no sense. Instead of accepting the mother’s simple assertion that this was not her son, we’re led to believe the LAPD instead s pressured Christine to take custody of a perfect stranger. Doesn’t that sound inhuman?
And how long could a young impersonator keep up such a charade, even if he had wanted to? Wouldn’t the fraud have been exposed the first time “Walter” went out to play with his friends, visited relatives, greeted neighbors or went to school? Something doesn’t add up here.
A crime saga strictly for the very gullible, since it

Fair (1 star)
Rated R for profanity, violence and disturbing content.
Running time: 142 minutes
Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
DVD Extras: “The Making of” featurette, plus a profile of Angelina Jolie and the real-life woman who inspired her character.

To see a trailer for Changeling, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57_t2BFZaK8

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