Changeling (2008, USA)

Two things right off the bat – Angelina Jolie looks amazing in a cloche, and her makeup artist should be commended for the stay-put lipstick.

Other than that, Changeling felt pretty rote. I was hoping for a lot more, and though I hate to be one of those critics who nitpicks about what a writer and/or director should have done, I find myself wishing that the film hadn’t felt so broad, that its every intention wasn’t telegraphed wildly through dialog or the camera. I also wish that they’d bitten off a little less in the first place – the true story of Christine Collins and the Chicken Coop Murders, or an investigation into corruption in the police force and the city/county works in Los Angeles in the first half of the decade (no original project, that)? Either way, focus on one or the other would have allowed for more character development, and more investigation of motivations – maybe even some more ambiguity. For a film with few clear answers in the end, ambiguity could have been the line between a generally satisfying period entertainment and Chinatown.