DISCLAIMER: Contains spoilers! And besides, this blog will not make sense to anyone who hasn’t seen this stupid movie, anyway.
I have always been a huge fan of Clint Eastwood the actor. Because he no longer acts and I have watched all the TV reruns and spaghetti Westerns to the point of memorization, I have been following his directing kick.
I went to see Changeling the other week, which is directed by Clint Eastwood, and maybe it’s because I love Clint and am a little biased, but I’m not really sure what to think of this movie. I’ve decided to write my response on Changeling for History of Film class, in hopes to weigh out the pros and cons and get a conclusion on whether or not my Eastwood loyalty is deserved this time around.
Right off the bat, something bothered me. They show Angelina Jolie and her young son, Walter Collins (whose name is spoken so often the viewer will have freakin’ ENGRAVED in their memory by the end) moving around in their little house, interacting, and we get to know their characters. I was instantly irritated by the fact that Jolie’s character wears hooker-red lipstick. This is Spring of 1928. Modest, average woman working honest jobs and maintaining an honest household did not wear such bold makeup. And no matter how often she rubs her mouth with her white gloves–not a smear! Amazing. I didn’t know they had that kind of lipstick technology then. I’d always thought that in 1928 they pinched their lips and cheeks to make them pink, because rogue was expensive and toxic. But that’s just me.
These petty annoyances because more apparent as the movie went on. I could have forgiven the lipstick, but things only got worse. Maybe it’s just me, but it seemed like all the useless trivia I know could be accounted for in Changeling, and whoops, look at that! They got everything wrong.
“Serial Killers”
Now, for those of you who are not interested in Serial Killers and their crazed, delusional and deviant minds, you may not know that the term “Serial Killer” was actually coined by the FBI in the 1970s after Ted Bundy became such a hit. They use this term in the movie so often, almost as often as the words “Walter Collins”, and it was driving me up the wall. In the 1920s, “Serial Killers” were called plain old “Murderers”. And this movie takes place in 1928.
“Amos ‘n Andy”
Good old Amos and Andy. Such a lovely sense of humor, so wholesome. So NOT likely to be on the TV when Walter Collins was watching it: the first broadcast of Amos ‘n Andy happened a week after Walter Collins was abducted in real life, in March 1928. Burn!
“Electroshock Therapy”
Electroshock treatment was constantly looming over the women in the hospital, and it was used mostly for punishment. We even saw a woman get fried right in front of us, and then she was up and speaking and walking around right afterwards.
First of all, back in the day, these treatments were highly dangerous and often the patient died or had permanent brain damage. (Think… One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest) You didn’t just jump up and have a conversation with someone. Often, their flesh was burned from the electricity and the crew had to wear all sorts of rubber things for protection. The hospital crew in Changeling did not cater to any of this.
Second, it’s actually called electro-convulsive therapy, and it wasn’t even invented for human use until almost 1940. This movie takes place in 1928. Fail!
Also, did anyone else notice that some of the male cop’s ears had piercing holes? Oops! It’s 1928!
With every mistake, I found myself thinking, “This is 1928! This is all wrong!” Probably because if they omitted the oh-so-important date of 1928 they could have gotten away with so much more. But no… they were more concerned about using the “Based on a True Story” hook, which Hollywood is so obsessed with, and for that, you need the right date.
All in all, it’s not a bad story. You’re bored to tears because it’s all so linear, and then wham! Enter a dirty bucktoothed Canadian and his crazed cousin who kill children and suddenly you’re paying attention. For this movie, I’d give Clint Eastwood a head-pat and tell him he’s all right. Two stars?
I just wish Jolie had not been given so many lines to read that sounded the same.
“That’s not my son!”
“This is not my son!”
“This is not my Walter!”
“That’s not Walter!”
“You are not my son!”
“Give me back my son!”
“Did you kill my son?”
“Who killed my son?”
“I want my son back!”
(All the while patting her perfectly red lips and not smudging them!)
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