The Exchange - Film review

Los Angeles, 1928. Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie), who works in a telephone exchange company, lives in her own with his nine years old son Walter. It was a typical weekend for the family, so Ms. Collins went to work as usual, while her son waited her at home so in the evening they could go to watch a film. At the time she was coming back, she unfortunately looses the street car that should carry her home. When she arrives there, already night time, she realizes Walter is not in the house. She quickly starts to search for him in the neighbourhood, but she can't find him. She  then call the police to inform about the disappearance, but she's told that they cannot do anything until twenty-four hours has passed since the boy got lost. Passed that time, she goes to the police station so she's able to make known that her son's disappeared. Weeks later, L.A. Police tell her they've found Walter, and when mother and son are about to rejoin, she denies the boy they have found is her son. From that point, Christine Collins start to investigate where her son really is and unmask the corrupted Los Angeles Police Department.

Changeling, up to now is one the best film I have ever seen, to be honest. It shows how L.A. Police was during the 1920s, a corrupted Department that if they couldn't get the things they wanted, they would get them using the force. [From now on, spoilers begin] When Christine denies that the boy they've found is her son, they start to put pressure on her to not deny that the boy is her son. Despite it is obvious that he's not her son as he is smaller than Walter was before he disappeared and that boy is circumcised while Walter wasn't, they send doctors just to tell her lies trying to convince her. I like how she does not care about what the police says, she knows she's right and the Police is wrong and they don't want to admit it. The pressure they put on her increases as she does not stop, so the policeman in charge of the investigation, Officer Jones, send her to an asylum. Meanwhile, in another investigation, some policemen captures a Canadian teenager who is illegally in the U.S.A.. This teenager has a black past on him: he says that his cousin, the person he was living in and owner of the farm where he was captured, kidnap children and kill them. The policemen show him some photos about disappeared children to see if he recognizes any of them, and he does. To see if he is not lying, they took him back to the farm, and ask him to dig up where the corpses are, and a few shovelfuls later, some human bones appear. This part is very shocking as when the policemen see the corpses ask the teenager to stop, but he doesn't, he's actually crying as he has killed some of the boys there and he's regretted. This make the investigation about Walter Collins to reopen, and tons of people start defend her, even a prestigious lawyer. The killer is captured, and she's taken out of the asylum. After the trial, he's sentenced to die. We see how he is going to be hung, and despite he's crazy and he killed all the children, he is actually scared of death, as he starts to act with hysteria. He ask to the witness to pray for him, but no one does it. This part is very dying for me, as it shows how people behave during the last minutes of their life, when they know they're going to die. Few days later, another trial occur, in which  Officer Jones is accused of corruption, and he looses the trial, loosing his rank and job. Also, another few women who were in the asylum because they did the same as Christine are released after the trial. Some years later, the police find a boy who was kidnapped by the killer, and says how him and two other boys escaped, being one of them Walter. he actually confess that he's alive thanks to him, but he doesn't know where they are now, or if they were captured again. Despite all the evidences, Christine did never give up and continued looking for his son. [Spoilers finish here]


What I like of this film is the effort shown by Ms. Collins: she does never give up, she did never stop fighting the police despite she was tortured in the asylum and all the people lied to her. That's what I call mother love. And this bring hope to people, as this is based on a true story, showing that there's still people who do whatever it takes for the one they love.