Changeling (2008)

The review gives Changeling full marks, signaling a strongly positive verdict. It praises Eastwood’s willingness to make varied material his own and take risks.

Wise calls the film a fabulous, ambitious drama. He particularly praises Angelina Jolie’s intimate, involving performance at the center of its sweeping story.

Ebert finds the drama compelling, though weighed down by its length and melodrama. He singles out Angelina Jolie’s performance as a strength.

McCarthy finds the film emotionally powerful and stylistically assured, praising Eastwood’s ambitious expansion of a personal tragedy into a critique of Los Angeles’s power structure. He also singles out Angelina Jolie’s direct, affecting performance and the film’s visually vivid period setting.

Honeycutt finds the film compelling and emotionally powerful, though courtroom scenes briefly slow its momentum. He especially praises Angelina Jolie’s portrayal of a mother whose vulnerability and resolve coexist.

Phipps finds the film compelling and unsettling, but says its final scenes lose urgency. He praises Angelina Jolie’s sad, unyielding performance and the film’s depiction of institutional failure.

Bradshaw finds the film gutsy, unusual and powerfully told despite some awkward choices. He praises Eastwood’s confident direction and the film’s vivid period detail, while faulting its sugary music and overripe scenes.

Brody presents the film as a compelling lesson in democratic activism. He praises its meticulous period recreation and restrained performances, especially Jolie’s understated portrayal.

The page identifies this as a review, but its verdict is inaccessible. The paywall also conceals what the critic singles out for praise or criticism.

The review finds the film gripping at first but overlong and overly sentimental by the end. It praises the convincing recreation of 1920s Los Angeles, while criticizing the one-dimensional characterization and drawn-out endings.

Gonzalez finds the film a distracted, graceless muddle that fails to examine the lies and themes it raises. He praises Angelina Jolie’s emotionally committed performance as Christine Collins, despite criticizing Eastwood’s framing of her.

The review’s verdict cannot be verified from the blocked page. Its specific praise or complaint is likewise unavailable.

The critic finds the film patchy and pompous, with Angelina Jolie’s performance becoming increasingly strained. The child actors and the story’s subtler ideas about home earn praise.

Kermode finds the film compelling, mature and emotionally gruelling. She praises Straczynski’s restrained script and Jolie’s riveting performance, while noting a flaw in Malkovich’s mannered acting.

The review praises the film as a captivating, moving portrayal of Christine Collins’s fight against police corruption. It singles out Angelina Jolie’s raw, emotional performance for bringing Collins’s struggle and determination to life.

The critic finds the film a moving depiction of cruel injustice, though its many shifts in tone leave it lacking cohesion. The indifference Christine faces from authorities makes the strongest impression, while the film skims over her relationship with the impostor boy.