Changeling Movie Blurb by Shale October 31, 2008 Today, instead of my usual escapist fare at the movies, I went to see a serious flick, a period drama about life in 1928 Los Angeles. The movie was 2 hours 20 minutes long and as some reading this know, I do not like movies to run over two hours. But this one I didn't notice, being so engrossed with the story. (until time to race to the men's room) The story is a real one about Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie) a single working mom who came home from her job at the phone company to find her 9-year-old son, Walter missing. Mother and Real Son This was not usual behavior for her son and she called the police who told her to wait 24 hours (This police procedure went well into my lifetime before missing children were immediately searched for). Five months later the police say they found her son in another state and amid great fanfare with the press present, the cops bring out a boy claiming to be Walter. It isn't but Christine is coerced by the overbearing and misogynistic police Capt. J.J. Jones (Jeffrey Donovan) into accepting him for the photo op. Not her Son When she keeps insisting that the boy is not her Walter and presses the cops to keep looking, the corrupt police department comes down, accusing her of being a neglectful, unwilling mother and mentally unstable. She makes enough news to come to the attention of radio preacher Gustav Briegleb (John Malkovich) who has his own crusade going against the corruption of the LAPD. Needless to say, if you saw the trailers, Christine is thrown into the county psych prison and suffers the abuses in this pest house that posed as psychiatric care in the 1920s. There she meets Carol (Amy Ryan) a quite sane hooker who was put in there because she defied the police. At that time police could have people committed to the psych ward under "Code 12" which could include anyone who "dissented, protested, caused trouble or objected" to police methods. And of course the corrupt police had their own complicit corrupt psychiatrists making it all legit. Christinegets sprung by Reverend Briegleb and Sammy Hahn (Geoff Pierson) a prominent defense attorney who has taken her case pro-bono. Not only do they free her but are instrumental in freeing all the "Code 12" commitments and eventually repealing that law which allowed the police to commit citizens at will. Gustav Briegleb, Christine Collins and Sammy Hahn taking it to the courts There is much more story going on here than I have told you, but unless you are already familiar with an 80-year-old police case out of LA I think it would be best to let the story unfold at its own pace. I will tell you that I enjoyed this movie immensely and that Angelina Jolie did more acting here than I have seen her do elsewhere (Hey, how much drama can you expect from Lara Croft, Mrs. Smith and Fox). I don't know how much appeal this movie would have for young people, but I would suggest they could enjoy it as a history lesson of the late '20s. Of course I am old enough to appreciate the period sets, costume and customs - it is merely my grandparents' generation. Director Clint Eastwood (78) actually lived in California during this period as a child. I can say that every part of this movie appeared most accurate and I was taken by how much of the things were still around during my childhood in St. Louis. The story was researched by writer J. Michael Straczynski from actual court documents that were about to be destroyed, hence it is tagged as a true story, not "based on."
Changeling and History Personal Movie Blurb by Shale November 1, 2008 Yesterday, instead of my usual escapist fare at the movies, I saw a serious flick, a period drama about life in 1928 Los Angeles. The story is a real one, about Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie) a single working mom who came home from her job at the phone company to find her 9-year-old son, Walter missing. I wrote how she called the police who told her to wait 24 hours and I recall this being the police procedure that went well into my lifetime before missing children were immediately searched for. I also wrote how Christine was coerced by the overbearing and misogynistic police Capt. J.J. Jones (Jeffrey Donovan) into accepting an imposter to her son for the photo op. I mentioned in my movie blurb that I don't know how much appeal this movie would have for young people, but suggested they could enjoy it as a history lesson of the late 1920s and that I am old enough to appreciate the period sets, costume and customs - it is merely my grandparents' generation. So, not to muddy up the actual rundown of the movie, I refrained from this history of an old man who was just a couple decades removed from the events of this movie. Some period movies like Hollywoodland that depicted the 1959 death of TV Superman star George Reeves hit home because I was around at the time and grew up with the character on TV altho Reeves' death had little impact on me as a 15-year-old. But the point is, I have come to the age where a large part of my life is now history, being depicted in movies. The setting of Changeling was at the time of my mother's birth. Director Clint Eastwood was born in 1930 and actually lived in California during this period as a child. I can say that every part of this movie appeared most accurate and I was impressed by how much things were still around during my childhood in St. Louis. The story was researched by writer J. Michael Straczynski from actual court documents that were about to be destroyed and everyone agrees that it is an actual portrayal of events of that time and place. He even inserted copies of news clips thruout the script so the actors would understand the sentiment of the time. The houses in 1930 were the same as those in the '40s. The pushbutton light switches were the same as in my old house on 18th Street; the wooden consoled school speakers in the movie were the same as in my school. The refrigerator with the coils on top was something I never saw because we had an ice box until we got a more modern electric "Fridge." Likewise, I missed out on the two-part telephone, but our heavy black phone was also seen in this movie. But I have seen the PBX switchboards that were shown here as they were still being used by the hospital where I worked in 1967. Material things didn't change in one or two decades back then, before "planned obsolescence" was the norm. But, more than the physical familiarity of this movie was the cultural norms that you had to understand to appreciate the period. I mentioned the misogynistic cop but it was a misogynistic culture of which he was a part. You have to know that a woman's place was in the home, that before World War II most people in America lived on small farms and women had only been allowed to vote for 8 years at the time of this movie. While in my lifetime, California had the reputation of being a decade ahead of the social norms of the rest of the U.S., I imagine that the implants from that more conservative country were still impressing their values on even the most progressive cities like LA. Christine was working as a manager at Pacific Telegraph, something mentioned as groundbreaking in the movie. I also remember a family story of how my aunt Sarah was living and working in the Bay Area of California in 1945 near my mom and dad when her brother Penny came thru, returning from the Pacific War. He insisted that his sister return to rural Mississippi, that it was improper for a young single woman live on her own. My dad argued with his brother about their sister and she stayed in California. This was not an uncommon moral value, that women in America were under the care of males in their family until they married and this was in my lifetime. Aunt Sarah and her brother Penny, Richmond California 1945 (He went to Mississippi with a pic, not a sis) Part of the story was howChristine was thrown into the county psych prison and suffered the abuses in that pest house that posed as psychiatric care in the 1920s. At that time police could have people committed to the psych ward under "Code 12" which could include anyone who "dissented, protested, caused trouble or objected" to police methods. And of course the corrupt police had their own complicit corrupt psychiatrists making it all legit. I don't doubt that for a second because I was helpless to watch a friend involuntarily committed to Charity Hospital psych ward in New Orleans in 1968. I was at the bar where she worked when an orderly and two N.O. cops came in to take her away. Her mother had called the authorities to have her committed. All I could do was tell her to remain calm and I would try to spring her. Her insanity: she was a white middle class uptown girl living with a low-life black man in the Quarter. Just a note about electro-shock therapy. It was still being practiced in the 1970s and as a psych tech at DePaul Hospital in New Orleans, I witnessed a session. Of course it was not done as torture as depicted in so many horror stories such as this one. The patient was unconscious during electro-convulsive therapy and barely moved when her brain was zapped. People often have no sense of history when viewing movies. I am quite critical of the political correctness that shows racial harmony in a period where it did not exist even in my life. I remember the colored and white drinking fountains and restrooms; the separate sections of restaurants, buses and trains of the '50s and '60s. That is why I am leery of portrayals of great interracial friendships during this time in movies. It happened but not without conflict in most communities. In my own St. Ann, a post war 'burb of officially integrated St. Louis, where a black family dared to move in the late '50s - their house mysteriously burned. To its credit there were no black players in Changeling - remaining true to the portrayal of segregation in our society that was even in California in 1928. Again, I strongly suggest that this movie could be used as a valid history lesson. It is not Pearl Harbor.
I just saw this the other day & loved it. Angelina was great in this. She reminded me of a female boss I used to have. But neways awesome movie!
