Turgid Eastwood, sprightly Leigh, confused Stone, messy Demme, mediocre Levinson
FS
Issue date: 10/28/08 Section: Arts & Entertainment
Clint Eastwood fires a near-miss with "Changeling" (Northpark), a moody, melancholy period drama based on a notorious child abduction case in 1928 Los Angeles.
The so-called Wineville Chicken Coop Murders involved a man who kidnapped children and took them to his family's ranch, where he tortured and killed them. The film concentrates on one of the victims, whose mother created a stir when she challenged the police identification of a boy whom they returned to her. The mistreatment of the woman, who was committed to a brutal psychiatric clinic by the chief investigator because of the bad publicity that fell on the department, led to an official investigation of then-widespread police corruption after the capture of the murderer had proven her right.
This is a fascinating story, but in Eastwood's hands it's portrayed so slowly and somberly that one suspects he's more interested in showing off the period ambience his crew has so carefully contrived than in dramatizing the events. And his focus on the suffering of the mother, played by Angelina Jolie, with special emphasis on her grim "hospitalization," makes the picture seem like a Joan Crawford tearjerker from fifty years ago.
One can easily admire the craftsmanship that went into "Changeling," but ultimately its slow pace and heavy-handedness make it more respectable than compelling.
British writer-director Mike Leigh makes his pictures in a unique way: he and his hand-picked cast effectively write the script through long periods of improvisational rehearsal, which determine whether they're dark dramas (like "Naked") or charming entertainments (like "Topsy-Turvy").
In "Happy-Go-Lucky" (Magnolia) Leigh has fashioned one of his most high-spirited crowd-pleasers, a tale of a Pollyanna-like schoolteacher who always looks on the bright side of things and tries to make matters better when she encounters unhappiness or pain.
There's a sad and somewhat frightening side to the picture, particularly in an extended episode involving the heroine's encounters with a mean-spirited driving instructor she hires after her bicycle's been stolen. And episodes involving a troubled student and a homeless man have a distinct edge.
The so-called Wineville Chicken Coop Murders involved a man who kidnapped children and took them to his family's ranch, where he tortured and killed them. The film concentrates on one of the victims, whose mother created a stir when she challenged the police identification of a boy whom they returned to her. The mistreatment of the woman, who was committed to a brutal psychiatric clinic by the chief investigator because of the bad publicity that fell on the department, led to an official investigation of then-widespread police corruption after the capture of the murderer had proven her right.
This is a fascinating story, but in Eastwood's hands it's portrayed so slowly and somberly that one suspects he's more interested in showing off the period ambience his crew has so carefully contrived than in dramatizing the events. And his focus on the suffering of the mother, played by Angelina Jolie, with special emphasis on her grim "hospitalization," makes the picture seem like a Joan Crawford tearjerker from fifty years ago.
One can easily admire the craftsmanship that went into "Changeling," but ultimately its slow pace and heavy-handedness make it more respectable than compelling.
British writer-director Mike Leigh makes his pictures in a unique way: he and his hand-picked cast effectively write the script through long periods of improvisational rehearsal, which determine whether they're dark dramas (like "Naked") or charming entertainments (like "Topsy-Turvy").
In "Happy-Go-Lucky" (Magnolia) Leigh has fashioned one of his most high-spirited crowd-pleasers, a tale of a Pollyanna-like schoolteacher who always looks on the bright side of things and tries to make matters better when she encounters unhappiness or pain.
There's a sad and somewhat frightening side to the picture, particularly in an extended episode involving the heroine's encounters with a mean-spirited driving instructor she hires after her bicycle's been stolen. And episodes involving a troubled student and a homeless man have a distinct edge.
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