It's very possible that Clint Eastwood is the best director currently working. Consider the recent work: Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Flags Of Our Fathers (which works better on repeat viewings), the superb Letters From Iwo Jima. The man has defined the western with films like Outlaw Josey Wales and Unforgiven, and flips genres with ease. And his next one, Gran Torino, looks great:
This brings us to Changeling - hailed at Cannes but meeting mixed reception in the US. A.O. Scott in the New York Times for instance said of Jolie, "It insists on being redarded as a great performance and may, indeed, be mistaken for one."
I have to disagree with this statement. I think you can apply that to Jolie's (failed) Oscar-bait performance in A Mighty Heart or Halle Berry's cynical turn in Things We Lost In The Fire, but here i found Jolie much more restrained than i had expected. There are scenes when she seems so small, so lost, so frail - Lara Croft! For me this was her best work since Girl Interrupted, once again showing what has so easily been forgotten in the Brangelina, world-adopting image of her in recent times.
Eastwood's economy of filmmaking is again present and while it is true that applied to period settings his style can sometimes appear a little straight-forward and idealised this is after all a film, not a documentary. He and his collaborators create an effective 1920s world, that takes you there rather than feeling like a backlot (the only really grating thing being the use of a period Universal logo at the head of film which is now becoming overdone). It is not Eastwood's best film but it is an admirable one and as usual from Eastwood he has drawn the very best out of both every cast member and the crew.
Awards chances: Excellent. Jolie seems certain for a nomination and must be a good shot at the gold, although Kate Winslet may have something to say about that and Kristin Scott Thomas should figure prominently. Still with a French-language performance winning last year and Winslet potentially having two roles that could both be up and cancel each other out Jolie has a very good chance, and Eastwood has been a dab hand recently at bringing home gold for his actors. Technicals like production design, costume, hair & make-up are all assured at least at nomination level. The film probably wouldn't be in a highly competitive year but no clear winner has emerged from those i've seen so far this year and i suspect Changeling may well feature alongside Revolutionary Road in the five nominees this year.
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