Los Angeles, 1928: On a Saturday morning in a working-class suburb, Christine said goodbye to her son, Walter, and left for work. When she came home, she discovered he had vanished. A fruitless search ensues, and months later, a boy claiming to be the nine-year-old is returned. Dazed by the swirl of cops, reporters and her conflicted emotions, Christine allows him to stay overnight. But in her heart, she knows he is not Walter. As she pushes authorities to keep looking, she learns that in Prohibition-era L.A., women don't challenge the system and live to tell their story. Slandered as delusional and unfit, Christine finds an ally in activist Reverend Briegleb (Malkovich), who helps her fight the city to look for her missing boy. Based on the actual incident that rocked California's legal system, Changeling tells the shocking tale of a mother's quest to find her son, and those who won't stop until they silence her.
This was a really good movie. Very disturbing at points, but I can't really get in to that without giving away major points of the movie. I really can't do too many of my rants about this at all without giving it away. That really stinks. I had some really good ones. Anywho, the only real knock I can make against this movie is that I thought it was going to end more times than The Fellowship Of The Ring. The whole thing about "I want my real son" that was in the preview was pretty much wrapped up halfway through the movie. She then went after the cops. But it didn't end after that. She then went after the mental institution. But it didn't end after that. There was a whole other court part that I can't really go in to. But it still didn't end after that. All the while, I couldn't stop wondering what was going on with the "fake" son and what his real parents must have been going through wondering where he was. There . . . . I fit in a rant and feel a little better.
Even with the ranting, I would still recommend this movie. Its a really good drama that keeps your attention through the multiple possible endings.
