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Changeling (2008)
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Overview
User Rating:
Your Rating:
Director:
Writer (WGA):
J. Michael Straczynski (written by)
Release Date:
31 October 2008 (USA)
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Tagline:
To find her son, she did what no one else dared.
Plot:
A grief-stricken mother takes on the LAPD to her own detriment when it stubbornly tries to pass off an obvious impostor as her missing child, while also refusing to give up hope that she will find him one day. Full summary » | Full synopsis »
Plot Keywords:
Police
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Ranch
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Missing Child
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Corruption
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Search
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Awards:
Nominated for 3 Oscars.
Another 4 wins
&
31 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(383 articles)
Angelina Jolie gets Satisfaction with Mick
(From Monsters and Critics. 5 March 2010, 2:30 AM, PST)
The Tourist Commences Principal Photography Starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp
(From MovieWeb. 1 March 2010, 11:00 AM, PST)
(From Monsters and Critics. 5 March 2010, 2:30 AM, PST)
The Tourist Commences Principal Photography Starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp
(From MovieWeb. 1 March 2010, 11:00 AM, PST)
User Reviews:
Grueling and scary search for truth.
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Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Angelina Jolie | ... | Christine Collins | |
| Gattlin Griffith | ... | Walter Collins | |
| Michelle Gunn | ... | Sandy | |
| Michael Kelly | ... | Detective Lester Ybarra | |
| Jan Devereaux | ... | Operator | |
| Erica Grant | ... | Operator | |
| Antonia Bennett | ... | Operator | |
| Kerri Randles | ... | Operator | |
| Frank Wood | ... | Ben Harris | |
| Morgan Eastwood | ... | Girl on Tricycle | |
| Madison Hodges | ... | Neighborhood Girl | |
| John Malkovich | ... | Rev. Gustav Briegleb | |
| Colm Feore | ... | Chief James E. Davis | |
| Devon Conti | ... | Arthur Hutchins | |
| Ric Sarabia | ... | Man at Diner |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated R for some violent and disturbing content, and language.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
141 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Black and White (opening and end sequence) |
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix:
Certification:
USA:R (certificate #44429) |
UK:15 |
Canada:13+ (Québec) |
Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) |
Ireland:16 |
Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) |
Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) |
Australia:MA |
Finland:K-15 |
Denmark:15 |
Iceland:16 |
Netherlands:16 |
Sweden:15 |
Japan:PG-12 |
South Korea:18 |
Czech Republic:15 |
Singapore:NC-16 |
New Zealand:R16 |
Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) |
Brazil:16 |
Philippines:R-18 (MTRCB) |
Norway:15 |
Germany:12 (f) |
Hong Kong:IIB |
Taiwan:PG-12 |
Argentina:13 |
Peru:14 |
Austria:14 |
France:U (with warning) |
Mexico:B |
Singapore:M18 (DVD rating)
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The first cut ran 50 minutes longer. It includes two major scenes shot but removed. The first subplot is a long roof chase where Northcott (Jason Butler Harner) eludes capture from the Mounties. Another major deleted sequence is where after Christine returns from the mental institution, Briegleb (John Malkovich) brings men to protect her as he believes that she was in danger from the LAPD.
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Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: Rev. Gustav is a Presbyterian minister, but the arrangement of the deep chancel area in his church is not a Presbyterian layout. It was likely filmed at an Episcopal church.
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Quotes:
[first lines]
Christine Collins: Walter, honey. Time to wake up.
Walter Collins: Just ten more minutes...
Christine Collins: Sorry, sport. You can sleep in tomorrow, that's what Saturdays are for.
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Christine Collins: Walter, honey. Time to wake up.
Walter Collins: Just ten more minutes...
Christine Collins: Sorry, sport. You can sleep in tomorrow, that's what Saturdays are for.
See more »
Movie Connections:
Featured in The Orange British Academy Film Awards (2009) (TV)
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FAQ
What is a "changeling"?What is the box that Christine Collins talks about in the film?
How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
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See more (292 total) »
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Changeling - In 1928, Single mother Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie) returns home one day to discover her nine-year-old son, Walter, is missing. She calls the police and, after enduring a grueling 24 hours, they search for her son. But the boy they return to her is not her son. After confronting corrupt city authorities, Collins is vilified as an unfit mother and sent to an asylum.
This is a grueling film to watch. I have not felt this hideous since North Country, a film which also dealt with misogyny within the power structure. Women are treated as fragile, emotional, and not believable. This film tackles corruption to boot, as the LAPD is accused of being a gang of thugs that answer to no one. Eastwood is old school with the violence, understanding that the mind can fill in the very brutal gaps.
Angelina Jolie delivers another great performance. But unlike A Mighty Heart, this film actually deserves her presence. I don't think she really should have so much press coverage, but there is definitely reason for her acclaim as an actress. The situation her character goes through is so surreal and the film captures it perfectly. It gives you chills from the second Christine is given this pretender to raise and rarely lets up. And if for one moment you tell yourself "It's just a movie" as I tried to, this s*** actually happened. Characters were composited or changed, a disclaimer at the end states, but the events were the same.
An odd praise goes out to Jason Butler Harner, who plays Gordon Northcott, a kidnapper and murderer of many children. He has played one of the monsters of everyone's nightmares to perfection. Also of note is Jeffrey Donovan for his portrayal of J. J. Jones, corruption personified. Jones is a man able to whisk people away to asylums with no need of warrants. Scary indeed.
Changeling shares a theme with several of Clint Eastwood's other films. Unforgiven and Flags of Our Fathers come most readily to mind. His lesson concerns truth and lies, and exposing the hypocrisy of falsehoods for want of the truth. The truth is rarely pretty, but generally preferable to lies, and will often come to surface, if given enough time. I doubt I will watch this struggle for truth for a long time to come (it's not one for casual viewing), but it's a very good film.
A-