I actually wasn’t too keen on watching this movie, since it involves the disappearance of a child. But Jolie’s OScar nomination intrigued me so I decided to watch it.
Luckily I only had that sense of fear of losing my own children for a few minutes, starting from the last time Christine Collins (Jolie) saw her son. When she finally goes home and doesn’t find her son I was very tense and projected my own fears onto her.
However once the fake son is brought to her, this movie becomes something else. It’s about the police corruption, the use of mental institutions, as well as a serial killer.
All these are horrible events, but luckily Christine has some friends that help her. I like that Reverend Briegleb helps her legally with all her problems, but in the end he has his own agenda and uses her to reach his goals. Those goals are ultimately just, but he isn’t depicted as a totally benign character. Or maybe it’s just that John Malkovich has that strange feeling about him.
The police on the other hand, especially Captain Johnes, is depicted as just plain evil and selfish. They tried to counter that with Detective Ybarra, who seems more interested in actually helping people.
The movie ends with hope, but since this is based on a true story, this is not exactly a Hollywood ending.
Jolie is very good here, at times she seems almost a pushover, but when it comes down to it she really stepped up and fought. Also she never gives up on her son, even though the situation seems desperate. On the other hand, her role is not very subtle I thought. She has big dramatic scenes, and that’s where she shines. But those seem almost easier to me.
I did think the movie was a big too long, because it tried to be about too many things. Still, I enjoyed it.
Rating: 3 Stars