Changeling Film Analysis

Changeling is a 2008 film based on an old American crime story called the “Wineville Chicken Coop Murders,” directed by auteur director, Clint Eastwood. In the film, Angelina Jolie plays the main role of 1920s single mother, Christine Collins, who relentlessly pursues the search of her son, once he is discovered to be missing. Reinterpreting the true story, Eastwood takes the audience of the film on the search with Mrs. Collins, steering her to unfold the true corruption and abusive authority of the Los Angeles Police Department (Bovsun). Many themes of this film revolve around ideas of social injustice. However, the overall triumph exists in the main plot which follows Christine Collins as she persistently demands justice in the ongoing search for her son, Walter Collins, by the Los Angeles Police Department. This plot provides a narrative of the unfailing hope and love of a mother for her son overcoming the suffering and pain in the tragedy of his mysterious disappearance. Eastwood’s use of cinematography to incorporate music to portray emotions, intentional camera shots and movements, stark contrast in lighting to intensify characters, and the use of foreshadowing, allows

Each of these ideas are highlighted in the plot in many different ways. It is through the use of cinematography to incorporate music to portray emotions, intentional camera shots and movements, stark contrast in lighting to intensify characters, and the use of foreshadowing, that creates a narrative following the true story of Christine Collins’ unbreakable hope and unfailing search for her missing son. Any audience is sure to be drawn in and emotionally captivated by Eastwood’s take on the American drama, and this is effectively accomplished by the advanced cinematography skills exhibited in the