Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Colm Feore

A mother's prayer for her kidnapped son to return home is answered, though it doesn't take long for her to suspect the boy who comes back is not hers.

Flixster Users

84% liked it

195,355 ratings

Critics

61% liked it

192 critics

R, 2 hrs. 20 min.

Directed by: Clint Eastwood

Release Date: October 24, 2008

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: February 17, 2009

Get It:

Stats: 11,540 reviews

Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Your Rating



clear rating
Share on: Facebook Twitter

Flixster Reviews (11,540)


  • November 18, 2009
    it was meh, i like it though but some of the acting was to intense, questioning the kid all hard them making him dig up the bodies lmao
  • November 11, 2009
    Nothing redeeming about the movie, very depressing even more so due to it being a true story. Not one to watch again. Great cast though and performances.
  • October 28, 2009
    Changeling is the true story of a young mother in 1920s America whose son goes missing, but when the wrong boy is returned to her she is persecuted by a corrupt police force trying to avoid public embarrassment. Another beautifully crafted and intelligent drama from Clint Eastwoo...( read more)d, Changeling is quite an unbelievable story. It highlights the dreadful, uncaring hypocrisy of corrupt officials, the appalling treatment of the mentally ill of the time, not to mention those "hysterical" women who were committed to avoid embarrassment or inconvenience. The period is meticulously recreated and the plot combines the story of a woman unshakably seeking justice against enormous odds and the investigation into a harrowing serial killer case. The cast are all of course quality, apart from the fact that although she turns in in quite a creditable performance, you can never quite forget you are in the presence of Her Jolieness rather than witnessing actual events. The result is leagues ahead of the hand wringing melodrama that missing child stories usually entail and serves both as an intriguing mystery and cautionary tale about human indifference to the suffering of others.
  • October 27, 2009
    I think it was Woody Allen who said, "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it by not dying."

    While I was watching this Clint Eastwood directed biopic, I kept thinking that 100 years from now, on a TV station like TCM, they'll be able to do

    ...( read more)a tribute to Clint Eastwood that could go on for months. And in between each movie, they'll interview Eastwood about his ideas when he worked on that particular film. That's right, Clint Eastwood will still be alive, and he'll be in his hundred and seventies. Why? Because he's tough? No, because this is my dream vision, and I never ever want Clint Eastwood to die. I want him to keep on making movies for the next several hundred years. Yes, he misses from time to time, but he hits on a high percentage of his projects.

    Angelina Jolie mentioned that after this one wrapped, she got in touch with her agent and said that she'd decided she'll only do films directed by Eastwood from now on. I assume she was joking, but I think I know what she means. This film, like most of Eastwood's biopics, is excellent. Eastwood has a nearly magic touch, especially when he is working with "true" material, that gives a tremendous life energy to the work. This one is right up there in the Eastwood tradition that includes movies like Byrd, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and Flags of Our Fathers. Some critics call it self-indulgence -- that Eastwood sacrifices a disciplined straight structured shot to the end, opting for a kind of leisurely gander at all the other stories along the way to the final rolling of the credits. I've called that not an undisciplined leisureliness, but a powerful kind of jazz improvisation. If it is sefl-indulgence, hey, he's earned it.

    Why spend so much time on the mass murderer's story here? Why? Because it's just as important as the story of his victims and their relatives. It's a beautiful weave -- one of Eastwood's fortes -- that becomes almost self-referentially obvious in the staccato cutback's between the hearing and the trial.

    I think Woody Allen would agree: For his contributions past, present, and future, I want Clint Eastwood to live forever.

  • September 27, 2009
    Clint Easwood has delivered a gut-wrenching masterpiece. There is absolutely nothing that does not work in this film. The cinematography, the score, the script, the direction, the acting- all perfectly executed. The story itself is gripping, intriguing and most haunting.
  • November 23, 2009
    Exceptionally good film, if a little slow.
  • November 20, 2009
    Dramma forte e passionale che vede in Angelina Jolie un'ottima attrice da Oscar e in Clint Eastwood un maestro capace con ogni pellicola di sorprendere
  • November 19, 2009
    I haven't seen this since theaters, but I remembered liking it. I do, but it starts off far too slow, but once the boy comes back and onward, it's a mesmerzing, meticlously recreated era with some amazing lighting (as in all Eastwood directed movies) and some great acting.
  • November 19, 2009
    pretty unsettling, but also a good movie. i'm not sure i'd give it multiple watches, but i would recommend at least experiencing it once. great casting...although angelina jolie did kind of look like a zombie...i'm surprised michael kelly didn't shoot her...
  • November 18, 2009
    strange how she never found her son other than that i thought i was a greAT

Critic Reviews


November 28, 2008
Nigel Andrews, The Financial Times

The bigger the scene, as melodrama intensifies in this movie, the more its truth-based tale turns into grand guignol on the griddle. full review

October 30, 2008
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

Changeling is a brilliant, demanding film, a mystery-cum-character study about which we finally have to make up our own minds. full review

October 24, 2008
Pete Hammond, Hollywood.com

Another Oscar-worthy masterpiece from Clint Eastwood. full review

October 24, 2008
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

When it works best, Changeling is a feverish and bluntly effective parable of wronged innocence. full review

October 24, 2008
Claudia Puig, USA Today

While the neo-Gothic tale is inherently intriguing, the film should inspire strong emotion, but deliberate pacing and a contained sense of melodrama make it a surprisingly passive experience. full review

October 24, 2008
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

Normally, Jolie is an actress capable of both intensity and subtlety, but her performance here is too amped up to register as anything more than a star turn. Did nobody notice that the real Angelina h... full review

October 23, 2008
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

It has not a single unnecessary stylistic flourish. No contrived dramatics. No shocking stunts. full review

October 23, 2008
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

A mesmerizing film that burns in the memory. full review

October 22, 2008
Armond White, The New York Press

Changeling isn't just a mess of manipulative attitudes like a Spike Lee film, above all, it's an extremely unpleasant experience. full review

October 20, 2008
David Edelstein, New York Magazine

The way Eastwood shoves Jolie's suffering in our face is like a threat to the Academy: 'And the Oscar WILL go to ... ' She's a great actress. She doesn't need his domineering chivalry. full review

View more Changeling reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • MarkTV
    April 18, 2009
    She is so amazing in this movie! Her acting, from her strength of care to her son. AMAZING MOVIE!
  • oompa172000
    November 27, 2008
    angelina jolie has always had class she makes the movies great that she plays in shes a powerful actress with lots of talent and potential still even after all the other movies there is still alot more she will surprise and shock us with she plays the parts written for her thats the point of acting she portrays the character that does not reflect on who she is i love angelina jolie no matter what anyone thinks
  • raechello
    September 25, 2008
    Sounds interesting. I'll probably see it when it comes to DVD though :)
  • mellz1989
    September 13, 2008
    the trailer looks good.... hopefully the movie will be good too...
  • kimmie2011
    May 30, 2008
    who cares if its the writers job...we just love angelina..
  • IRONMANBLAST
    April 28, 2008
    You people talk like the actor actually write the parts they play.
    Um I believe that is the writers job.
    You watch to much entertainment tonight
  • beachpeach
    March 20, 2008
    I love the time period, the idea for the film seems interesting and ya gotta love Angelina! :)
  • InfamousHugo
    January 30, 2008
    Angelina Jolie has done sex scene in half the movies she's been in. Its not a matter of having 'class'. If she's comfortable with her sexuality and her body she has the right to do it.
  • owenspartygirl
    January 29, 2008
    I have been hearing rumors of this movie of a sex scene w/ agalina is in, i juist hope she has more class

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Official Trailer

More Like This


Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Gone Baby Gone
    Gone Baby Gone (82%)
  • Seven (Se7en)
    Seven (Se7en) (54%)
  • One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest
    One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (75%)
  • The Outlaw Josey Wales
    The Outlaw Josey Wales (58%)

Facts


No facts approved yet. Be the first

Changeling : Watch Free on TV


Changeling Trivia


  • George C. Scott moves into a house haunted by the spirit of a crippled child?  Answer »
  • in the movie "The changeling" what was the item that came back to the house after he throw it away?  Answer »
  • Richard Charmichael murdered his natural born son -Joseph in what 1980 film The Changeling ?  Answer »
  • In the movie "The Changeling" what happened to George C Scott's character's wife and daughter?  Answer »

Most Popular Skin