Eastwood delivers ‘Changeling’ in his fearless style

In theaters

CHANGELING, directed by Clint Eastwood, written by J. Michael Straczynski, 140 minutes, rated R.

The new Clint Eastwood movie, “Changeling,” galvanizes Eastwood’s presence as one of today’s best directors.

After he won the 1993 Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director for his Western “Unforgiven,” some understandably might have thought that Eastwood’s career had peaked – the movie was that good.

But then came “The Bridges of Madison County” in 1995, which humanized its slight sourcebook with substance; 2004’s “Million Dollar Baby,” which transcended the sport of boxing to become a movie about the necessity of surrogate families; and in 2006, two films that looked at opposing views of World War II – “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Letters from Iwo Jima.” Of those latter four films, each was nominated for Academy Awards. Some took home the honor in various categories.

Now 78, Eastwood continues his stretch of directorial success with his latest movie, a period drama based on true events.

Set in a masterfully re-created 1920s Los Angeles, “Changeling” is the story of Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie), a single mother whose 9-year-old son, Walter (Gattlin Griffith), goes missing. Five grueling months pass before the corrupt Los Angeles Police Department, desperate for good press, finally produces a child. The trouble is, when Collins surprises them by claiming the child isn’t hers, they make the decision to ignore that claim.

While the press looks on, the captain (Jeffrey Donovan) in charge of the case whispers to Collins that time has been hard on the child. Of course, he has changed. Caught in the glare of the flashing cameras and facing this smiling boy’s own insistence that he is her son, a dumbfounded Collins poses with him in a photo that becomes front-page news.

It’s later, at home, that her doubts about whether this Walter is her Walter grow into a cacophony of facts that he is not. This Walter, after all, is 3 inches shorter than her Walter. Dental exams prove he couldn’t be her Walter. Those who knew Walter, such as his teacher, are steadfast that this child isn’t the same child.

What’s going on here? It’s complicated, but when Collins tries to find out by questioning the police with the help of a powerful Presbyterian minister named Gustav Briegleb (John Malkovich), she quickly is gathered up and sent to an asylum.

The intent is to shut her up, only it doesn’t work, particularly when the story detours to include Gordon Northcott (Jason Butler Harner), a serial killer linked to the deaths of 20 children, and when Briegleb introduces Collins to a lawyer (Geoff Pierson) who agrees to work pro bono to help her.

What springs from all this is a beautifully measured movie, armed with the undercurrent of a thriller with nuanced performances that help to tell it well. Everyone raises their game here – Jolie is especially good, commanding our attention and earning it.

As the detective who cracks the Northcott case, Michael Kelly is superb. And while it’s true that J. Michael Straczynski’s script can be heavy-handed in the flashbacks concerning Northcott, whose real-life story is altered here, the film mostly tempers its melodramatic elements by not giving itself over fully to them.

One of the film’s chief conceits comes down to its ambitious scope – it’s enormous. Still, Eastwood is fearless, juxtaposing a mother’s profound worry for her child and the injustices threatening to cripple her from finding him against a city undone by the very people charged to protect it. That’s a lot for one movie to contain, but Eastwood succeeds. He taps into Collins’ rage, he uses it, and he drives us through.

Grade: A-

On DVD and Blu-ray disc

KUNG FU PANDA, directed by John Stevenson and Mark Osborne, written by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, 95 minutes, rated PG.

John Stevenson and Mark Osborne’s “Kung Fu Panda” is filled with colorful animation, loopy characters, and one villain sure to ignite plenty of PG-rated fear in younger viewers.

The film follows Po (voice of Jack Black), a cute panda with a gut the size of the moon whose humdrum life is spent making noodles for the Chinese locals with his adoptive father, Mr. Ping (James Hong). Saddled with low self-esteem and a job he hates, Po is nothing if not a panda with a rich imagination. As unlikely as it seems given his size, he has dreams of becoming as great at the art of kung fu as his heroes, the Furious Five.

That group is a clutch of fiercely competitive animals trained by Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) to become the next Dragon Warrior and thus battle the fearsome Tai Lung (Ian McShane), a tiger who turned to the dark side after also being trained by Shifu.

When Po is mistakenly made the next Dragon Warrior, let’s just say that Shifu has his work cut out for him to turn this Panda into the warrior he presumably can become if only he has the courage to believe in himself.

After its buoyant start, the film drags a bit during its less-involving second act, but it pulls itself together (not unlike Po himself) to deliver a terrific final act. Bolstering all of this is the feisty animation, which is particularly strong in the clipped, frenetic fight sequences that bring to mind the wit of Warner Bros. animation director Chuck Jones. That his influence continues to be felt is no surprise – there’s a wealth still to be learned there – and it’s one of the underlying reasons “Kung Fu Panda” works as well as it does.

Grade: B

WeekinRewind.com is the site for Bangor Daily News film critic Christopher Smith’s blog, DVD giveaways and archive of movie reviews. Smith’s reviews appear Mondays, Fridays and weekends in Lifestyle, as well as on ban

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