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Revisting - Movie Archive

Often, acceptable compromises can be made in life for something of a similar type or value---perhaps opting for a different brand of toothpaste or shopping in a new grocery store.  One thing is certain, a mother knows her own child, and she's not interested in an imitation, no matter how convincing.  Heaven help the person who tries to switch out one of Angelina Jolie's million children for an impostor.

Changeling sets up a heartbreaking dilemma when single mother Christine Collins (wonderfully portrayed by Angelina Jolie) comes home from work on a March evening in 1928 to find her 9-year old son Walter missing.  You can just feel that she is trying her best not to panic as she searches the neighborhood in vain, desperately calling for the boy from whom she is typically inseparable.  A call to the LAPD proves unhelpful as their standard procedure requires them to wait 24 hours before a search ensues, since most children return home in that time.  Much to Christine's dismay, Walter is not in that majority, and weeks later as the search is losing steam you can sense the waves of agony and frustration pouring over her.   

Suddenly in a miraculous turn of events, Walter is found alive and well in Illinois and is returned home by train to his mother.  The LAPD, led by Capt. J.J. Jones (a bad-guy role for usual vigilante and "Burn Notice" vet, Jeffery Donovan) shows up in all its glory to the media-laden train-side reunion, making sure they are applauded for their wonderful accomplishment.  One minor issue though---the boy who steps off the train is not Walter Collins.  Christine spends the better part of 1928 in an effort to prove to both the LAPD and the media that the boy is not her son.  Of course the LAPD is not about to admit the error and precious time is lost while they drag their feet, insisting all the while that the boy is indeed her son, at one point even throwing Christine into an insane asylum to join other victims of the LAPD's corruption.  In one of his seemingly rare performances these days, John Malkovich portrays the tireless Reverend Gustav Briegleb, who believes Christine immediately upon hearing of her plight and champions her case to the end. 

An invaluable tip from a teenage boy leads a rogue LAPD member to start his own quiet investigation into a murder suspect who has been kidnapping and brutally murdering young boys on his nearby ranch.  The teenager identifies several missing boys who he knows were among the captives, one of course being Walter Collins.  In the end, the murderer hangs, the LAPD is sufficiently embarrassed, and although we never get the closure we seek regarding Walter, we at least feel some vindication knowing that the bad guys paid.

Buy it, Rent it, Skip it...

This movie looks fabulous (thus the 2008 Oscar nomination for cinematography), and Angelina Jolie is gorgeously believable as the boy's mother in this heart-wrenching true story.  Take a break from Rudolph and Frosty, and add this one to your Netflix queue; you won't be sorry.