Recoil
Regular
Yea, I know, there is a "Changling News" thread, but I'll bet some people don't look in that forum, and even so, thats a thread about News regarding the movie, not about actual discussion about the movie itself, which I think should belong here.
So I just saw this movie tonight. It was one of those movies that I certainly wanted to see, but really didn't know anyone else who did, other than my brother and his wife. Lost power at the house today, so with not much I could do, I went out and saw it. Here are some thoughts and comments.
I really liked the movie. The story is solid, and the direction is fantastic. This is a movie that for me was chilling and disturbing at various points in the movie for various reasons. First off, since this is a B5 forum, I'll comment on seeing my first ever JMS-written motion picture.
I thought the script was good. I thought most of the dialogue was very good as well. There is really no humor in this one, which I think is good because JMS always seemed to be so hit or miss with humor. Humor REALLY has little/no place in this movie. I have started seeing that JMS tends to repeat some of his common themes and even lines of dialogue in many of his works. Jeremiah saying "Nothing is the same anymore", for example. I've had mixed emotions about this, and also had mixed emotions about one of his JMS/B5 lines that appeared in "Changling." "Never start a fight, but always finish it" is the one that appears in this movie. To be honest, I felt its use (and maybe this was just Jolie's delivery of it when she was talking to her son) was a little clunky. Maybe though, thats because Im used to John Sheridan saying it, and to ME it seemed odd hearing it again, but to a non-B5 viewer it might not be a big deal. However, the line itself is a key theme of the entire story. So I liked the concept but still not sure I liked hearing it in there. Did that make any sense? Aside from this, though, the movie is VERY well written, as are the characters and the character moments, and I was very impressed.
This is a movie that is toted as a "True Story" at the start. Not BASED on a True Story, but a TRUE STORY. I heard that the studio made JMS show research verifying facts of the case and the story to ensure if they put it in print on the screen, its either factually accurate, or parts where there isn't exact proof, things are extrapolated from the events. I bought this at first, but was a bit surprised that given this, NO MENTION was made to the fact that Gordon Northcott was actually living with his Grandmother (whom he thought was just his mother) and that she helped in some of the killings. Maybe someone felt that Northcott was chilling enough to stand on his own as the villian / killer, but if its supposed to be factually accurate (which by all accounts I do think all of the facts IN the movie are) I found it odd that a detail like that was omitted. Aside from that, from everything I can tell, the story shown on screen factual.
Now to the more important stuff --- the tone and delivery of the movie. To me, there were many disturbing parts, and I think much of that is Clint Eastwood's direction. The ENTIRE mental hospital sequence was disturbing. Mainly because she was literally taken off the streets and ended up there because a cop sent her with no trial or warrant. The entire atmosphere and appearance of the hospital was unsettling. More than enough to convince me never to set foot in one. Oddly enough, here is where I had another JMS/B5 moment. I really felt that the head doctor resembled, in a way, the interragator from "Intersections in Real Time" from B5. He had a similar demeanor. His task was the same --- get Jolie's character to confess to being wrong and sign a piece of paper letting the police department off the hook. He also made a comment about "take her to room 17" which really felt like what the interragator said before having the Drazi guy taken away. But, I digress. So the mental hospital sequences were very well crafted and it is in here that the strength of Jolie's character really starts to come out.
However, hands down for me, the most unsettling scene had to be Northcott's execution (by hanging). Clint did a GREAT job behind the camera, and Jason Butler Harner did a fantastic piece of acting. Ive seen a lot of movies with execution scenes in them, and none really effected me in any particular way. Hangings, Injections, Gas Chambers, I've seen several over the years. Often those about to die seem solom, or "at peace" with what is about to come. Jason Butler Harner did a great job of showing an already mentally unbalanced character come unglued. From when he was walking down the stairs to the execution chamber and eyeing the gallows, to him walking up the stairs and crying to the cops to stop making him "walk so fast" up the steps to his death. He really conveyed the panic well. And when the hood went over his head and he started singing "Silent Night" was certainly an odd choice and something to try to calm himself before the end. Even a slight shout as the door opened. I really felt myself putting myself in the shoes of someone walking down death row, and wondering what fear would be felt knowing you were taking the last couple steps of your life and how I would act. No scene of this type ever made me feel that way.
Interestingly enough, though, I never felt SORRY for the character even though that scene drew me in so well. As much fear as you felt coming from Northcott, and as much as I almost felt it myself, at the same time I kept thinking it was really nothing compared to what Northcott did to all those children and what THEY endured. This movie really did bring together a number of disturbing sequences and meshed them together well.
Another appalling aspect of this movie was the police corruption, which was well documented in the 1920s. Other movies in the past have told this aspect of the past of the Los Angeles Police Department, but probably none as well as this movie. All of the steps they took to make themselves look good, and cover up the facts was nausiating. That chief of police was STILL trying to cover his ass right up till the end, seeing off the kid who was lying on the train. Always trying to look good in front of the press. From press conferences, to the courtrooms of the film, they really unearthed the corruption, and it really made me wonder how in the hell people could even THINK the way they did during this case.
Additionally, though, at the heart of the story was JMS's tendency to show strong female characters. Jolie and a woman her character confonts in the mental hospital really deliver some strong performances, especially in the setting of the late 1920s. I can't say I've been a huge Angelina Jolie fan, but I think this has to be her finest performance to date.
So all in all I really liked it. I was a longer movie than most these days, but did tell a detailed story, and really kept things as factually accurate as could be told I think. I'd recommend this movie to just about anyone who can enjoy a good story.
So I just saw this movie tonight. It was one of those movies that I certainly wanted to see, but really didn't know anyone else who did, other than my brother and his wife. Lost power at the house today, so with not much I could do, I went out and saw it. Here are some thoughts and comments.
I really liked the movie. The story is solid, and the direction is fantastic. This is a movie that for me was chilling and disturbing at various points in the movie for various reasons. First off, since this is a B5 forum, I'll comment on seeing my first ever JMS-written motion picture.
I thought the script was good. I thought most of the dialogue was very good as well. There is really no humor in this one, which I think is good because JMS always seemed to be so hit or miss with humor. Humor REALLY has little/no place in this movie. I have started seeing that JMS tends to repeat some of his common themes and even lines of dialogue in many of his works. Jeremiah saying "Nothing is the same anymore", for example. I've had mixed emotions about this, and also had mixed emotions about one of his JMS/B5 lines that appeared in "Changling." "Never start a fight, but always finish it" is the one that appears in this movie. To be honest, I felt its use (and maybe this was just Jolie's delivery of it when she was talking to her son) was a little clunky. Maybe though, thats because Im used to John Sheridan saying it, and to ME it seemed odd hearing it again, but to a non-B5 viewer it might not be a big deal. However, the line itself is a key theme of the entire story. So I liked the concept but still not sure I liked hearing it in there. Did that make any sense? Aside from this, though, the movie is VERY well written, as are the characters and the character moments, and I was very impressed.
This is a movie that is toted as a "True Story" at the start. Not BASED on a True Story, but a TRUE STORY. I heard that the studio made JMS show research verifying facts of the case and the story to ensure if they put it in print on the screen, its either factually accurate, or parts where there isn't exact proof, things are extrapolated from the events. I bought this at first, but was a bit surprised that given this, NO MENTION was made to the fact that Gordon Northcott was actually living with his Grandmother (whom he thought was just his mother) and that she helped in some of the killings. Maybe someone felt that Northcott was chilling enough to stand on his own as the villian / killer, but if its supposed to be factually accurate (which by all accounts I do think all of the facts IN the movie are) I found it odd that a detail like that was omitted. Aside from that, from everything I can tell, the story shown on screen factual.
Now to the more important stuff --- the tone and delivery of the movie. To me, there were many disturbing parts, and I think much of that is Clint Eastwood's direction. The ENTIRE mental hospital sequence was disturbing. Mainly because she was literally taken off the streets and ended up there because a cop sent her with no trial or warrant. The entire atmosphere and appearance of the hospital was unsettling. More than enough to convince me never to set foot in one. Oddly enough, here is where I had another JMS/B5 moment. I really felt that the head doctor resembled, in a way, the interragator from "Intersections in Real Time" from B5. He had a similar demeanor. His task was the same --- get Jolie's character to confess to being wrong and sign a piece of paper letting the police department off the hook. He also made a comment about "take her to room 17" which really felt like what the interragator said before having the Drazi guy taken away. But, I digress. So the mental hospital sequences were very well crafted and it is in here that the strength of Jolie's character really starts to come out.
However, hands down for me, the most unsettling scene had to be Northcott's execution (by hanging). Clint did a GREAT job behind the camera, and Jason Butler Harner did a fantastic piece of acting. Ive seen a lot of movies with execution scenes in them, and none really effected me in any particular way. Hangings, Injections, Gas Chambers, I've seen several over the years. Often those about to die seem solom, or "at peace" with what is about to come. Jason Butler Harner did a great job of showing an already mentally unbalanced character come unglued. From when he was walking down the stairs to the execution chamber and eyeing the gallows, to him walking up the stairs and crying to the cops to stop making him "walk so fast" up the steps to his death. He really conveyed the panic well. And when the hood went over his head and he started singing "Silent Night" was certainly an odd choice and something to try to calm himself before the end. Even a slight shout as the door opened. I really felt myself putting myself in the shoes of someone walking down death row, and wondering what fear would be felt knowing you were taking the last couple steps of your life and how I would act. No scene of this type ever made me feel that way.
Interestingly enough, though, I never felt SORRY for the character even though that scene drew me in so well. As much fear as you felt coming from Northcott, and as much as I almost felt it myself, at the same time I kept thinking it was really nothing compared to what Northcott did to all those children and what THEY endured. This movie really did bring together a number of disturbing sequences and meshed them together well.
Another appalling aspect of this movie was the police corruption, which was well documented in the 1920s. Other movies in the past have told this aspect of the past of the Los Angeles Police Department, but probably none as well as this movie. All of the steps they took to make themselves look good, and cover up the facts was nausiating. That chief of police was STILL trying to cover his ass right up till the end, seeing off the kid who was lying on the train. Always trying to look good in front of the press. From press conferences, to the courtrooms of the film, they really unearthed the corruption, and it really made me wonder how in the hell people could even THINK the way they did during this case.
Additionally, though, at the heart of the story was JMS's tendency to show strong female characters. Jolie and a woman her character confonts in the mental hospital really deliver some strong performances, especially in the setting of the late 1920s. I can't say I've been a huge Angelina Jolie fan, but I think this has to be her finest performance to date.
So all in all I really liked it. I was a longer movie than most these days, but did tell a detailed story, and really kept things as factually accurate as could be told I think. I'd recommend this movie to just about anyone who can enjoy a good story.
