Changeling (2008) (2nd viewing)

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. [imdb]

Nominated for 3 Oscars:

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role: Angelina Jolie
Best Cinematography
Best Art Direction

I only watched this again so that I could write (and count her screentime) about Angelina's nominated performance. Which I'll do soon, on the other blog. It really is a mess of a movie that you'd never catch me see again. It's uncomfortable due to the subject, in the first part, and due to the boring genre mixture from the 2nd half.

The screenplay is destroying the film. When it's not obvious, it's pathetic or out of line. When it's not cheesy, it throws the plot all over the place. Clint Eastwood's direction is not that bad, but the fact that he always rushed the filming (not asking enough takes) is not helping him here. I blame the direction for the flaws in Angelina's performance (which I'll write more about on the other blog). Angelina is not bad. She just makes a couple of terrible acting choices.

It's a film that's too long. The best actress nomination is not worthy but it was expected. It was a bad year for art direction, so I can understand that nom. And the cinematography: quite good, but competition was better. The music is good, very jazzy, it would've deserved a nom. The (only) emotional scene for me was with the grown-up kid at the end and Angelina looking through the glass.

My rating for the film: 5.5/10. It's... a lot. But I don't hate it. Just find it a missed opportunity. Angelina's better than the project itself.