Sunday 10 March 2024

Changeling (2008 Clint Eastwood)

Written by J. Michael Straczynski, based on an appalling true story. He was for many years a reporter on the LA Times and a contact from City Hall phoned him and said 'There's something you should take a look at before we put it in the fire' and they had the transcript of the City Council welfare hearings on Christine Collins that we see recreated towards the end. He then spent a year researching until he found the whole story.

Great cast: Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Jeffrey Donovan the corrupt detective (Sicario 1 & 2, Fargo, J. Edgar), Michael Kelly (Taboo, Now You See Me, Did You Hear About the Morgans?), Jason Butler Harner, Devon Conti (the fake kid), Amy Ryan, Denis O'Hare, Eddie Alderson (the teenager), Geoff Pierson (the lawyer).

Stunningly shot by Tom Stern. Edited by Joel Cox and Gary Roache (with Blu Murray and Michael Cipriano assisting), simple but great music by Clint. The production designer responsible for recreating 1920s LA is James Murakami, former assistant to Clint's previous designer Henry Bumstead - thus the café the boy is abandoned in is called 'Bummy's'.



The light patterns caused by rain are amazing

With regard to those rain patterns, something about the film overall makes me think of In Cold Blood and in the cinematography specifically. Stern had spent a couple of years working with Conrad Hall and his influence is definitely felt here.

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