Changeling (2008)

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.

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

Stars:

Angelina Jolie, Gattlin Griffith, Colm Feore

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 33 nominations.

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

Storyline

Los Angeles, 1928. A single mother returns from work to find her nine-year-old son gone. She calls the LAPD to initiate a search. Five months later, a boy is found in Illinois who fits the description; he says he's her son. To fanfare and photos, the LAPD reunite mother and son, but she insists he's not her boy. The cops dismiss her as either a liar or hysterical. When she joins a minister in his public criticism of the police, they in turn use government power to silence and intimidate her. Meanwhile, a cop goes to a dilapidated ranch to find a Canadian lad who's without legal status; the youth tells a grisly tale. There's redress for murder; is there redress for abuse of power?

---

Plot Keywords:

boy | police | lapd | train | telephone | 

---

Taglines:

To find her son, she did what no one else dared.

---

Genres:

Drama | History | Mystery | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violent and disturbing content, and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [at]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 October 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

El sustituto

Filming Locations:

All Saint's Episcopal Church - 132 N. Euclid Avenue, Pasadena, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$55,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,225,548 (UK) (28 November 2008)

Gross:

£4,693,773 (UK) (2 January 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Imagine Entertainment, Malpaso Productions, Relativity Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

141 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Black and White (opening and end sequence) Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dominick Dunne:  The true crime writer is seen briefly in a non-speaking part of a jurist in the trial scenes.

---

Goofs

First when Christine is thrown in her cell, the hatch behind the barred window is shut with force. Later, when we see Christine watching Carol being brought back to her cell, we can see that the cell doors don't have hatches at all.

---

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.

---

Crazy Credits

The black-and-white Universal logo used in the 1940s opens the film.

---

Connections

Referenced in Smash His Camera (2010)

User Reviews

Interesting period piece

Watching this film is like taking a look back in time. Everything is picture perfect, the beautiful automobiles, the red electric street cars, the telephones, the switchboard station with roller-skating supervisors, the house appliances, and the outstanding clothing, from dresses to hats to police uniforms, everything is meticulously detailed. The story, which we are told is true, is complex and multifaceted. Angelina Jolie, who plays Christine Collins, gives an outstanding performance as a single mother who returns home from work to find that her son is missing. This puts into motion a series of events that exposes the reality of what Los Angeles society was really like in the late 1920's. Corrupt Police, uncaring and self absorbed mental health professionals and the basic premise that people left to their own ambitions will do anything to secure their own prosperity. Although this paints a bleak picture of the human condition, the film show that the actions of a few good men can make a world of difference, John Malkovich as Reverend Gustav Briegleb, is determined to expose the corrupt Police in his radio talk show, Michael Kelly as detective Lester Ybarra, although hampered by his superiors, uncovers what really happened to the boy and the unlikely hero, a powerful attorney who takes her case pro-bono comes to her rescue. If indeed this is a true story, then to see these people stand up to the powers that be is a ray of hope to all of us that there were people who were strong and principled. We can only hope that there are still people like that out there today.