MESSAGE IN THE MOVIES

The Changeling Rated R

Directed by Clint Eastwood.  Starring Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich

Photo © Universal Pictures
Movie Review by Rev. Bruce Batchelor Glader

In 1928 Christine Collins (Jolie), a single parent, saw her 9-year old son Walter go off to school, only to disappear.  She contacted the police and was told that she would have to wait for a couple of days before Walter could be declared a missing person.

Months later, the Los Angeles Police Department reported that her son had been found in DeKalb, Illinois, and would be returned to her.  There was only one small problem: the boy who got off the train and ran into his mother’s arms was not her son. The police department told Christine that she was hysterical over grief and mistaken. 

Thus begins a real life story of holding fast to the truth even when a system of power says that you must be wrong.  Christine finds an advocate in Rev. Gustav Briegleb (Malkovich), a Presbyterian minister with a local radio ministry who has been vigilant in proclaiming the corruption of the LAPD. Changeling is an inspiring story, and Jolie sets aside her glamour to represent a person of no power who simply has a mother’s love as the foundation for speaking the truth. 

There are some problems with this film. At two hours and twenty minutes, it is at least 30 minutes too long, and it seems to ignore the Depression altogether. What kept me engaged in this movie was its relevance to the current state of our country.  Fear, deceit, greed and the abuse of power have been a part of every war and are responsible for our current economic downturn. 

If there is any hope for the world (and I believe that there is), it is that love can be victorious against all of these other powers.  Jesus proclaimed the truth and was nailed to a cross.  But his resurrection defeated death itself and gave us the power to follow in his footsteps, knowing that “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” (John 1:5 NRSV) And so it is for those who stand up against evil today.  In its small way, Changeling is an inspiring story about the power of truth and love and another film of moral depth from one of our most interesting American directors.

Pitchfork Rating: Four halos  (The cost of integrity is movingly depicted in this true life story.)
Two pitchforks. (Graphic scenes of humiliation, some strong language, violent scenes involving children.)

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