A mother's love and heartbreak

The wave of success that Eastwood has been riding since "A Fistful of Dollars" never seems to decelerate, though the actor and director, now 78, is at an age when most people start to slow down instead of earning more accolades. Clint Eastwood, however, is not your average human being.

Eastwood has definitely transformed over the course of his career: Once the ultimate personification of masculinity as the Man with No Name and Inspector "Dirty" Harry, he is now a master filmmaker capable not only of creating works of epic, testosterone-induced proportions, like "Flags of our Fathers" and "Letters from Iwo Jima," but also of delivering films that delicately portray the struggles of women. Like "Million Dollar Baby," his newest effort, "Changeling," revolves around a central female character who garners the courage to challenge the barricades established by society, risking her life to attain something that she believes in.

Set in 1928, "Changeling" follows the true story of doting single mother Christine Collins, played by the goddess Angelina Jolie, who comes home from work one day to find her only son, Walter, missing. Distraught, she turns to the Los Angeles Police Department for help. Five months later, the police find a boy who allegedly matches her son's description, but Collins insists that the boy is not her son. Her protests and appeals to find her real son are met with disapproval from the captain of the police force, J.J. Jones (the sinister-looking Jeffrey Donovan, who perfectly embodies the misogynistic officer).

To rid himself of this annoyance and conceal the truth, Jones has no qualms about throwing Collins into an asylum, alleging that she is paranoid and unable to handle her responsibilities as a mother. Through the efforts of a minister and radio evangelist, the Rev. Gustav Briegleb (John Malkovich), Collins uncovers the corruption fermenting within the bowels of the LAPD.

In a role that probably hits close to home given her reputation as a loving protector of children, Jolie appears to harness her own experiences as a mother in presenting the range of emotions one might go through in such a situation. Her performance strongly reflects the Five Stages of Death, superbly capturing a discrete progression from denial to anger, bargaining, depression and, finally, acceptance.

In some ways, Jolie's role in "Changeling" is an aggregate of characters we have seen her play before, from her Oscar-winning role as a deranged girl in a psychopathic ward in "Girl, Interrupted" to a righteous humanitarian crusader in "Beyond Borders." Jolie convincingly portrays Collins' initial desperate search for her son, then moves with equal skill into a vehement and righteous defense of her own sanity. Ultimately, her representation of Collins as a wounded lioness protecting her only cub pulls at the viewer's heartstrings. Forget her ridiculous accents in the Lara Croft movies and "Alexander," Jolie is a mystifying sorceress with the innate ability to bend an audience's emotions according to her will.

Another noteworthy performance in "Changeling" - albeit noteworthy in a different sense - is that of Malkovich as the Reverend. After his appearance in the messy "Burn After Reading," his turn in "Changeling" only confirms my doubt about his acting abilities. Seeing Malkovich's hackneyed, apathetic performances has become an exceedingly painful experience. I first saw him in Jane Campion's "Portrait of a Lady" and thought his nonchalance was absolutely brilliant. I then saw him in a string of other, weaker movies, only to be faced with the same style of acting over and over again. Maybe he's following some famous method of acting, but his onscreen presence can be very tedious.

Beyond the acting, the film's cinematography has a wide color palette that alternates between a warm sepia tinge and a disquieting bluish tone. The colors allow the film to oscillate between moods: luscious in its portrayal of Los Angeles and haunting when capturing the ominous plotline. The film indulges moviegoers in the illusion of old-world glory but also encapsulates the idea that L.A. is not a city of angels, but rather a city wrought with immorality and vice.

In a nutshell, Eastwood has done an amazing job putting together this story. The real-life tale of Christine Collins is so complex that it is a feat in itself to squeeze it into a captivating two-and-a-half-hour film without completely overwhelming the viewer or allowing the movie to become tiresome. "Changeling" is a solid film and one heck of a movie to watch.

Four out of Five paws

Pros: It's an Eastwood movie, man!

Cons: Can someone please extract Malkovich from Hollywood already?