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Eastwood, who has made fine movies in recent years, has got hold of a humdinger of a story. But he's too detached and lazy here.
Clint Eastwood's Changeling falls into a common trap: by trying to do too much, it accomplishes too little.
This is one movie where the star really is the star. And delivers a performance of which any actress can be truly proud.
It is a misfire, a silly and borderline absurd story that cannot excuse its twists and turns with the simple 'a true story' declaration that opens the film.
How could a story as genuinely bizarre as this one seem so generic and rambling on the screen?
Changeling is a brilliant, demanding film, a mystery-cum-character study about which we finally have to make up our own minds.
Rich in authentic-looking period detail and punctuated with powerful acting, Eastwood's tale holds you in its firm, grim grip.
Jolie is alternately distraught and outraged (in good ways) but Eastwood's film is an odd mix of genres that never quite settles into the one we want to watch.
It's a gripping tale, as infuriating as it is jaw-dropping at times, but it also becomes a frustratingly sprawling one here.
Dreary, Oscar-or-die vehicle
A long cry from her typically one-dimensional heroine roles in films such as Wanted and Tomb Raider, Angelina Jolie proves she is more than just a gun-wielding sex symbol.
It's a strangely arid piece of filmmaking, handsome, respectful, unsensational and thoroughly lifeless.
Angelina delivers a fearless performance in a film that is far from conventional, but oh so lovely to look at.
Universal's high-definition presentation is excellent ....
The film ... becomes more of an examination of ... the misogynistic contrivances movie heroines have consistently been put through for audience entertainment.
The disc's extras include a substantial featurette on the making of the film and a profile of star Angelina Jolie and her character in the movie.
The story's impact is reduced by the filmmakers' decision to make everyone who is part of 'the system' not just complicit in the conspiracy, but also lacking humanity.
Exceedingly commendable and daring fact-based Hollywood filmmaking. And resonant with an integrity and uncompromising truth certain to give the best of outsider indies a run for their money. A seasoned Hollywood screenwriter couldn't make this stuff up.
There are moments when it seems as if it wants to be an inspirational story about a person who refuses to be beaten by a corrupt system -- but it doesn't, in the end, settle for the uplifting narrative.
Every element, including the photography, the production design, and Eastwood's own plaintive music score, seems close to perfection.
A crime saga strictly for the very gullible.
Changeling will engage both your fears and compassion, I have no doubt. And it will stay with you long after vou have left the cinema.
This is an Oscar-calibre performance from Angelina Jolie. She conveys a sense of grief, desperation, fear, sadness and determination that is absolutely palpable.
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