‘Changeling’ focuses on chauvinism, not missing children

‘Changeling’ Angelina Jolie, Jeffrey Donovan, John Malkovich Directed by Clint Eastwood A- ‘… ‘Changeling’ Angelina Jolie, Jeffrey Donovan, John Malkovich Directed by Clint Eastwood A- ‘ ‘ ‘ Fear is a function of doubt, illusion and uncertainty ‘mdash; aspects that ‘Changeling,’ Clint Eastwood’s directorial attempt at an Angelina Jolie-driven Oscar vehicle, certainly has in droves. The film’s true horror, though, comes in a surprising and possibly unintended fashion. In building the film’s emotional rollercoaster, Eastwood fails to realize that he’s just sending his audience in circles. ‘ ‘ ‘ Based on a true story, ‘Changeling’ features Jolie as Christine Collins, a 1920s telephone-operator maven and single mother to Walter (Gattlin Griffith). On an otherwise unexceptional afternoon, Christine is called into work and comes home to find Walter gone. A police investigation turns up a boy who claims to be Walter but is clearly not, as Christine immediately realizes. ‘ ‘ ‘ The film then revolves around Christine’s struggle to combat corruption within the Los Angeles Police Department at the hands of Captain J.J. Jones (Jeffrey Donovan). Jones, unwilling to admit police error, blames the controversy on Christine’s feminine frailty and has few allies beyond impassioned local personality Reverend Briegleb (John Malkovich) and his congregation. Christine, though, never stops declaring that her son is missing, which is the demonstration of strength that supposedly makes her story so exceptional. ‘ ‘ ‘ Contrary to this narrative structure, though, the focus of ‘Changeling’ is not on Christine’s search for Walter, but on her struggle with 1920s chauvinism and corruption. This is exemplified as the film quickly frames the possibility of Walter being found as a near-impossibility, and Christine’s fight becomes about accountability on the part of those responsible. ‘ ‘ ‘ As the film progresses, Christine becomes increasingly subjugated by the misogynistic structures of the era, even going so far as being forcefully admitted to an insane asylum because of her ‘feminine hysteria,’ inconveniencing the LAPD. Even as the true nature of Walter’s disappearance is revealed, the film continues to concern itself only with Christine’s suffering at the hands of chauvinist villains. ‘ ‘ ‘ There is little doubt that ‘Changeling’ succeeds admirably on the traditional, superficial rubric of film. The cinematography is nothing short of gorgeous, depicting the 1920s in a brilliantly subtle fashion, choosing not to make the film a parade of period outfits and stereotypes but instead a realistic depiction of the events in question. Jolie is immaculate and effective as Christine, even though the character rarely breaks out of a cycle of timidity and tears (although she does shine in her few moments of anger and assertion). Donovan and Malkovich support her beautifully, representing the conflicting political forces that she is trapped between. Even the music is perfectly appropriate. ‘ ‘ ‘ Unfortunately, it is the film’s unwavering appropriateness that brings it down. Eschewing the intrigue side of the plot by ignoring the questions of identity and sanity (a la Sylvia Plath’s ‘The Bell Jar’) that were relevant to these events, ‘Changeling’ becomes little more than an emotional evocation enterprise, intending to subject the audience to the same misogynistic oppression that Christine faced as a result of her son’s disappearance. In this, the film is quite effective, creating the true air of fear, helplessness and frustration that Christine undoubtedly felt. It is, in fact, quite the test of endurance, relenting only a few times with moments of comedy or lightheartedness to alleviate the melancholy of the film. However, Eastwood does this from a thoroughly ‘appropriate’ perspective, portraying Christine as a stereotypical woman of strength despite the unbelievably passive role her character plays in the events of the film. In doing so, he ruins the true effect the film could have had. In playing to the expectations of today’s perceptions of gender and feminism ‘mdash; in having a portrayal of Christine at odds with her historical identity ‘mdash; Eastwood betrays the very feminism that he purports to advocate in ‘Changeling,’ creating an instance of the same structure so demonized by the superficiality of the film. The characters seem to barely believe in Christine’s strength as scripted, pandering to appearances and niceties rather than to true appreciation. This is an execution wholly in conflict with any kind of feminism. In submitting to the common tropes of both film and society at large, Eastwood’s effort comes off as hollow and passive, in the same vein as the characterization of women by the villains of the film. If it were just adherence to social norms, perhaps the film could be seen as a crazy meta-commentary ‘mdash; absence for the purposes of indicating absence ‘mdash; but ‘Changeling’s’ careful adherence to the norms of the medium, with music coming in at just the right time and things looking exactly as would be expected by an uninformed audience, betrays that interpretation. There is no doubt that ‘Changeling’ has a strong impact on its audience. Even though that impact might not be exactly that which was intended by those behind the film, it ultimately does evoke something. And in modern Hollywood’s void of such evocation, ‘Changeling’ still carries with it a great deal of emotional power.