Changeling
Headline: ** A Mother's Love Will Not Be Silenced **
Title: CHANGELING
Quality: * * * * Acceptability: -2
SUBTITLES: None
WARNING CODES:
Language: LLL
Violence: VVV
Sex: None
Nudity: N
RATING: R
RELEASE: October 24, 2008
TIME: 140 minutes
STARRING: Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Jeffrey Donovan, Colm Feore, Jason Butler Harner, Amy Ryan, and Michael Kelly
DIRECTOR: Clint Eastwood
PRODUCERS: Clint Eastwood, Bryan Grazer, Ron Howard, and Robert Lorenz
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Tim Moore and Jim Whitaker
WRITER: J. Michael Straczynski
BASED ON THE NOVEL/PLAY BY:
DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures
CONTENT: (BB, CC, LLL, VVV, N, D, M) Strong moral worldview overall with a strong, positive portrayal of a kind, forceful Presbyterian minister who fights police corruption to help a mother in trouble, including a scene where the minister assures the mother that she will meet her missing son in Heaven and scenes of sacrifice, heroism and the defeat of evil; about 22 obscenities (including four or five "f" words), eight strong profanities and seven light profanities; snatches of very strong and strong disturbing violence includes two quick shots of man's bloody splattered face while he's hitting something with an ax and later it is revealed that he has been kidnapping and killing young boys, shadow of killer raising an ax against a young boy who is implicitly off screen, killer fires several shotgun blasts at four escaping boys running away into the dark night, killer shoves kidnapped boys into enclosure in barn, crying teenager tells detective that a man forced him to kill young boys with him, shot of corrupt policemen shooting a line of suspects to death without a trial, a supporting character gets shock therapy, heroine is about to get shock therapy, hanging of convicted killer is shown in disturbing detail, nude woman gets forcibly hosed down in shower, woman punches evil psychiatrist, orderlies in mental institution wrestle inmates to ground and shove them into rooms, and some female inmates in mental institution have clearly been beaten with bruises on faces, necks and arms; no sex scenes but man asks abandoned single mother out and she eventually accepts, woman illegally held in mental institution tastefully tells heroine that she was a prostitute who was beaten by a policeman and thrown in the institute when she complained, and detective makes up story that a kidnapper of children could force a boy to be circumcised for some perverted reason not mentioned; orderlies in mental institution forcibly hose down a nude woman but there is just one revealing shot with a cloudy view of woman's rear end and little else; no alcohol; smoking; and, 1920s police corruption in Los Angeles rebuked and defeated, police officials and police doctors lie, kidnapping of children rebuked and justice brought to bear on perpetrator, female orderlies take part in abusing and humiliating inmates of mental institution but they are rebuked implicitly in movie and directly in one scene, and women and children bullied by men and officials.
GENRE: Drama
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Adults
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SUMMARY: Clint Eastwood's CHANGELING stars Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich as a working single mother and a Christian minister in 1928 Los Angeles who fight against police corruption and an evil killer when the police replace the mother's missing son with another boy. CHANGELING contains some tough R-rated subject matter, including strong foul language and disturbing violence that contains violence against children and women, but it ultimately tells an inspiring story about a mother's love and a Christian leader's fight for justice that will not be silenced.
IN BRIEF:
Clint Eastwood's CHANGELING stars Angelina Jolie as Christine Collins, a working single mother in 1928 Los Angeles whose young son disappears one Saturday when she unexpectedly has to work. Christine, a real life person, refuses to cooperate with corrupt police officials, who send her a boy that's not her son. When Christine gets evidence confirming that fact, they throw her into a mental institution run by a mean psychiatrist on police payroll. A Presbyterian minister, played by John Malkovich, who tried to help Christine find her son, now tries to find Christine. Meanwhile, a police detective finds gruesome evidence in the desert that might solve the riddle of Christine's missing son.
CHANGELING is about a mother's dedicated love, and a minister's commitment, fighting police corruption. The realistic performances and direction are superb. The movie contains some tough content, however - such as snatches of very strong violence, including allusions of brutal violence toward children, and strong foul language. This content deserves extreme caution, but CHANGELING ultimately tells a positive story of truth conquering injustice and corruption, and hope in the midst of tragedy. It also presents a positive portrayal of an upstanding Christian minister.
NOTE from Dr. Ted Baehr, publisher of Movieguide Magazine. For more information from a Christian perspective, order the latest Movieguide Magazine by calling 1-800-899-6684(MOVI) or visit our website at www.movieguide.org. Movieguide is dedicated to redeeming the values of Hollywood by informing parents about today's movies and entertainment and by showing media executives and artists that family-friendly and even Christian-friendly movies do best at the box office year in and year out. Movieguide now offers an online subscription to its magazine version, atwww.movieguide.org. The magazine, which comes out 25 times a year, contains many informative articles and reviews that help parents train their children to be media-wise consumers.
