Kevin Maher
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On March 10, 1928, a nine-year-old boy named Walter Collins was kidnapped from his suburban Los Angeles home. Within a year the kidnapping would lead to the wrongful imprisonment of Walter’s mother Christine, to a corruption scandal that would permeate the highest levels of the LAPD, and to a child-abuse horror that would shake the city to its core.
This was the basis for Changeling. “There are some true stories that grab you by the lapels and don’t let go,” says the film’s writer, J. Michael Straczynski, a former LA Times journalist. “Once I started digging here, I couldn’t stop.”
Trawling through LA’s City Hall archives, Straczynski discovered an increasingly bizarre tale that revolved around the institutionalised victimisation of Christine Collins. Here, the single mother, after months of police inaction, was presented with a young boy, Arthur Hutchins, posing as Walter, by the LAPD police Captain J. J. Jones. When she refused to acknowledge the boy as her son she was first rebuffed by the police, who ordered her to try the new Walter out “on a trial basis”, and then eventually incarcerated in the psychiatric wing of LA County Hospital.
“Every time you think it can’t possibly get worse for her, it does,” says Straczynski, who adds that 90 per cent of the movie’s dialogue comes from written testimony. “When Captain Jones says: ‘Take the kid home on a trial basis,’ that’s verbatim from court records,” he says.
The tale takes a darker turn into the killings of children by Gordon Northcott (known as the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders), but at every step Collins is struggling for justice, and for Walter. “I can’t imagine how hard it was for her to take on the LA establishment,” Straczynski says. “So I thought I need to tell this exactly the way it happened, if only to honour her courage.”

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I found it hard to get to sleep after having watched it . An extremely powerful and moving movie. Angelina Jolie is superb, although she always is.
Susie , Cleveland, England
I came home, went to my daughter's bed, hugged her in tears the whole night. Angelina in her best performance, brought in such naked emotions of a mother in a hellish situation. Clint Eastwood was able to invite raw emotions from the cast, every single character delivered beautifully.
BRAVO
Antin Ruby, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Finally, Angelina Jolie played in a film worth watching... well, it's the Clint Eastwood's fantastic work though.
Ali, Toronto, Canada
Wow, Angelina Jolie actually starred in a good film! I thought it was a bit too drawn out towards the end, and the long-drop hanging was a bit sickening, but the film was a great story of a woman's empowerment in a horrible context.
Having said that, it was not a great film to see on a date!!!
Lee Dickenson, Manchester, UK
Just come back from seeing the film. Needed a strong drink - so powerful, so emotive, so magnificent! The part played by Angelina Jolie I thought at first a little unbelievable, but, as the story progressed I forgot to be critical. Clint Eastwood deserves to be proud.
Linda Grundy, Walton on Thames, United Kingdom
Abslolutely fab.......heart rendering film.......great performances by many in the film...........I keep thinking about those poor children
jacqui collins, chiswick, uk
Saw this film this afternoon, one of the best films i have ever seen......Angolina Jolie should be up for an oscar, and directed extremely well...
Helen Harper, Sutton, Surrey
I went to see the movie last night. I thought it was brilliant. I thought all the actors did a good job,it was very emotional for me to watch because I cried through most of it. I really would like to see it again or buy it on dvd when its released.
Helen, Llandudno, Wales
the film was very good and yet very emotional and yet i felt like i was in her position, but to go through what she went through is unbearable I couldnt imagine what to do if I lost someone I loved deeply
Iqbal Hussain, Southend, UK
I saw the movie last night. To go through all she went through and not have closure, left me with a pit in my stomach. I can't seem to get the movie out of my head. She was unfortunate not to have family or a spouse for emotional support. I wonder what happened to her. I will never forget her story.
Donna Gennaro, east northport,ny, USA
The movie was brilliantly produced, directed, and acted! This true story needed to be told; I connected with Angelina Jolie's role as Christine Collins, a brave and determined mother who defied the odds and stood up to the arrogance of the late 20's corruption of the LAPD; Walter's memory lives on.
Geetha Price, Woodridge, IL, USA
The movie was very well written and acted; a great cast. I'm not a big fan of John Malkovich, but after this movie I just may be. I liked the compassion and honesty of his character. It kept you interested throughout.
Betty Lajca, Brooklyn, usa
James Ellroy does a good take on the corruption of LA cops in the 1930s and 1940s. Read his books.
Tom Franks, Luton, Highsbridge