You’ll definitely be in for some trouble if one of the fair folk manages to sneak into your apartment complex. He’ll start by taking someone else’s form – say, your sister. You’ll know it’s not her because she’ll stare at you creepily while you watching television and casually toss people around the room. He will then proceed to take over the apartments one-by-one by filling them with trees and mushrooms and nature detritus. He may even use his mystic powers to magically transform the residents, turning young women into wood nymphs and any short black men that he encounters into a “brother elf”. You see? He’s short! So it all makes sort of sense.

Please be aware that you’ve got a limited amount of time here. If the fae villain successfully transforms the whole apartment complex into a nature paradise, it will create a gateway to his magical realm. You’ll then have gnomes and goblins running through the city streets, which really drives down the property values. Try thinking ahead and stash bottles of weed killer throughout the apartment complex. It might not hurt your foe, but you can use them to weaken the huge mass of vines that is quickly overtaking the building. Do it enough, and his mischievous plans will be thwarted.

The Men Who Stare at Goats, starring George Clooney and Ewan McGreggor.

McGreggor plays Bob Wilton, a midwestern American journalist compelled to travel to Iraq and write a life-changing story after his wife leaves him for his editor. In Iran while waiting to cross the boarder, he meets Lyn Cassady (Clooney), a man Wilton discovers is a former member of the First Earth Battalion, a group of psychic spies trained secretly by the government.

Cassady is the most powerful government trained psychic spy, who once killed a goat just by staring at it. Turns out, Cassady is wrecked with grief about killing an innocent animal and is crossing into Iran seeking redemption by freeing a group of goats being held in captivity by the government for psychic testing. Wilton joins Cassady to complete his mission in the hopes of finding a story.

Now, I had no idea what the hell this movie was about when I went to go see it. I only knew I’m always up for McGreggor and Clooney for two hours. I asked my date if he knew. “It’s about goats,” he replied, “some guy can kill ‘em with his mind”. I had heard it received mixed reviews.

Using goats as mind murder test subjects was a real experiment used by the paranormal military program. It is used as an example in The Men Who Stare At Goats by Ron Johnson, a book that examines connections between paranormal military programs and psychological techniques being used for interrogation in the War on Terror (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Men_Who_Stare_at_Goats).

So what happened here was a writer read this book and decided to turn one tiny example into a feature film. Remember in English class when you were told to write an original short story based on a recent news article? It’s a really good exercise. What I like about this scenario is that the writer chose to evolve complete fiction from a single fleeting fact, instead of writing a movie based wholly on facts.

I love bio pics and movies inspired by true events. JFK, Blow, Good Morning Vietnam, Selena, Catch Me If You Can, and The Way We Were are all great movies based on history. But as we learned from Citizen Kane in Film 101, the way people are perceived from memory is rarely who they truly were. Sometimes a true story feature can become hard to follow or feel rushed because there are so many facts that piece the puzzle together. A two-hour movie cannot possibly show the full picture. Bad acting, direction, or writing could also muddle a movie’s depiction of events. Changeling starring Angelina Jolie is an example of this type of bad true-life movie (If you enjoy watching Jolie sob uncontrollably and look helpless for almost three hours while maintaining zero to little sympathy for her character, Changeling is for you). What’s fun about The Men Who Stare At Goats is that it was based on only one fact, with a ton of fictional characters and obstacles created around it.

It’s a fun movie, definitely unique. I prefer when McGreggor uses his native accent rather than Americanizing his speech, but George Clooney was most energetic and fit for a man pushing fifty. I’d recommend seeing The Men Who Stare At Goats over The Twilight Saga: New Moon or Old Dogs, but I’d sooner recommend Fantastic Mr. Fox or Ninja Assassin over Goats if you were looking to attend the cinema this week.

Admittedly, there are certain differences between Clint Eastwood’s Changeling, starring Angelina Jolie, and the following YouTube video I stumbled upon.  For example, Angelina Jolie didn’t have a long-haired fright wig in the movie.  No no, she sported a fashionable 1930s bob:

Added to that, given that Changeling was a period piece, Angelina Jolie never wore hoodies or Billabong shirts, though sometimes she did wear this hat that I want:

Everything else about this video, however, is spot on:

Yup.  Basically identical.

My wife and I watched a movie this weekend called Changeling starring Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich, directed by Clint Eastwood.  I have to say, I was pretty impressed with it.

It’s based on the true story of a woman whose child is abducted from her Los Angeles area home in 1928.  Five months later, the police contact her to let her know her son is alive and has been found in De Kalb, IL.  A few days later he arrives by train.  But it’s not the same boy.

The woman objects, but is told she should take the boy home to “try him out” for a couple of weeks.  (???)  She does, but when she goes back to the police a few weeks later insisting it’s not her son, she’s institutionalized under Section 12 of a penal code which allows the police to toss anyone they find disagreeable or inconvenient in the loony bin.  With the help of a local pastor with a radio program and a lot of attention (who is, by the way, bent on rooting out the corruption of the police department and get a real law enforcement agency in place), she’s released.

The story revolves largely around her plight and the difficulties she has in getting anyone to believe her.  I won’t say how it ends, but I’ll tell you it’s only partially satisfying.

The movie sticks directly to the three-act story structure, and everything falls right in place and right on time.  It’s powerful and gripping, doesn’t drag, and is entertaining.  Not being familiar with the case, I didn’t have the ending figured out ahead of time.  (My wife, not me, paused in the middle of the movie to look the case up and get the answers.  So there.  Pbbt.)

I recommend this one.  It didn’t seem like a long movie, it’s well written and acted, and while Angelina’s looked better IMO, she did a wonderful job with this part.  A good story, good movie and intriguing case.

So, if you’ve not seen it and haven’t got anything to do some night where you’ve got two and a half spare hours laying around, check out Changeling.  It’s a good one.

See you tomorrow. 

-JDT-

All original content © 2009 DarcKnyt
ALL rights reserved.

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PNG Interview – Jess Hartley, Freelance Writer and Game Designer

Some of you may have read Jess Hartley’s works and may not know it.  Jess has contributed, been the lead on, and wrote quite a bit of material for White Wolf, a company responsible for the World of Darkness RPG.  I chat with her about how she got into the industry, how one gets into game design/writing, and what it’s like working on an RPG.  We also talk about her most recent work with the Supernatural RPG, Neoncon, and her One Geek to Another column on her website.

National Ledger – Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie in The Tourist?

While everyone in the movie business, particularly associated with The Tourist, is likely crossing fingers and toes that this pans out, I’m not so sure I agree.

I know, I’m probably in the minority but I just don’t like Angelina Jolie as an actress. She’s boring. I’ve seen Beyond Borders, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and Changeling. I know that’s only three of her many movies, but why would I watch more if I find her boring?

What’s interesting is this. In all three movies, I absolutely loved her male co-stars, or two of them. Beyond Borders was one of the best Clive Owen films I’ve seen. Brad Pitt didn’t bother me nearly as much as usual. And even the villain of Changeling, Jeffrey Donovan, was a saving grace.

Which all bodes well, of course, if Johnny Depp does happen to be in The Tourist. The plot sounds interesting and I watch nearly, yes nearly, everything that Depp does.

So, all in all, I am intrigued and interested though not necessarily excited by the prospects.

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The other night we watched an excellent movie, Changeling by Clint Eastwood, which had us shouting at the outrageous injustices taking place on the screen in front of us – we do tend to get a bit caught up in movies, particularly emotionally charged ones.

Basically, without giving too much away, the plot revolves around a woman (Angelina Jolie) in Los Angeles at the end of the 1920s whose son goes missing. When the police try to fob her of with a ‘replacement’ son she, understandably, reacts badly to this. The police, embarrassed by her public outbursts, react to this by throwing her into the nearest lunatic asylum.

The way this woman is treated is unbelievably appalling, especially when you know that it is based on a true story.

We found ourselves shouting “You can’t do that,” on a number of occasions. As the story unfolded it was difficult to comprehend how the authorities thought they could possibly get away with some of the things they got up to back in the ‘good old days’.

And then I thought of some news I’d read about Tenerife over the past week. In La Orotava there were accusations of financial indiscretions involving the mayor and a construction company. In Icod de los Vinos an audit showed that nearly 1.5 million euros were unaccounted for with the conclusion that this was as a result of fraud or chaotic mismanagement (this was the same place a policeman was placed in front of the Butterfly Gardens as part of a private political vendetta). In Puerto de la Cruz, following the political shenanigans of the last few weeks, an audit has turned up some more financial irregularities from the last time the ‘new’ mayor Marcos Brito was in charge…the list, sadly, goes on.

The incredible thing is that, like the movie, some of it seems so transparent that you wonder how on earth people can get away with it.

I asked a couple of Canarian friends about this. Both were quite apathetic and more or less said the same thing which amounted to ‘all the politicians are corrupt”. Clearly this isn’t true, but there seems to be a resignation that it is part and parcel of political life here, therefore nothing is done about it when it does happen.

One person said to me about Puerto’s situation “We’ll show the nationalists at the next election. The people will vote them out.”

To which I replied “But you did that at the last election and yet here they are back in power despite not being voted in.”

It is a strange form of democracy practiced here and watching the movie I couldn’t help thinking that some aspects of 21st century Tenerife politics were like 1920s Los Angeles – It is one part of island life that is in dire need of a complete overhaul.

Oh, if my blogs suddenly stop, somebody do me a favour and help bust me out of the local lunatic asylum.

In this episode Scott and Steve start off with some TV talk – some good, some worrying and some very exciting. There is also some great news about a new comics news we’ve previously discussed. After that we get onto our main feature where we talk about comics and movies, and more specifically, what is the recipe for a good comic movie? We look at the elements we think will guarantee success, we look at previous winners and losers, and why some of the best comics have not been succesful on the big screen. Steve also pitches some comic properties to Scott for the small screen.

This subject is a massive one, so let us know your thoughts and why you think some comic films have been popular with the mainstream audience and why others have failed. And if you have any ideas of your own as to what would be good on the big screen, and what would work better on the small screen, get in touch and let us know.

Don’t forget, episode 66 will be our book club episode, and it will be this side of Christmas, so get a hold of The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and join in the discussion.

Comic Book Outsiders Episode 62 – Direct Download

So, basically, the World of Darkness is the pretty amazing super-setting, that actually consists of about six or seven different games, all representing some aspect of supernatural phenomena that the world does not know about. Put simply, the World of Darkness is our world, but the things that go bump in the night are real. This super-setting includes Vampire: The Requiem, for a dark game involving dark politics and even darker themes;
Werewolf: The Forsaken, a very heavy game about dealing with the Beast within;
Changeling: The Lost, a lighter game dealing with those whom faeries have changed in subtle but powerful ways;
Mage: The Awakening, an easy to pick up game about mortals who have peered past the illusion of reality;
and Hunter: The Vigil, the most difficult of all the games, about those few mortals who, lacking superpowers of any kind, pick up the mantle to defend humanity from the things that go bump in the night;
as well as Promethean: The Created, and others.

My super-campaign is going to be a single, epic story, that starts with a Mage: The Awakening chronicle titled “The Stars at Night”, dealing with a team of normal humans who wake up one day to find that they can bend reality to their will. These mages will be forced to deal with their own power, while finding themselves thrust into a city where every manner of creature fights for dominance, and the World of Darkness finds itself perilously close to the light.

“Never start a fight… but always finish it.”

Clint Eastwood has always had an eye for a good story and this historical melodrama is no exception. The term ‘truth is stranger than fiction’ is often bandied around by marketing types to promote anything based on true events. In this case the term actually holds some weight. If I hadn’t known this film was based on a true story my suspension of disbelief would’ve been seriously challenged throughout.

Angelina Jolie gives a silicone-enhanced-lip-wobbler of a performance as Christine Collins, a grief-stricken mother who takes on a corrupt police department in 1920s Los Angeles. Five months after her nine-year-old son went missing, the good folks at the LAPD attempt to palm off an obvious imposter as her missing child.  Refuting the irrefutable facts that the boy is three inches shorter, circumcised, has a set of teeth that contradict his dental records, and is unrecognisable to his teachers and classmates, the LAPD stand by their assertions that he is in fact Christine’s missing son.

This sets the scene for a woman-in-jeopardy thriller where motherhood and politics collide in an era when it was perfectly acceptable to leave a nine-year-old boy home alone, and to have women sectioned for daring to stand up against the inherent misogyny of 1920s America. Jolie’s performance is first-rate, if a little grating at times with several scenes of hysterical grief and hard-nosed posturing seemingly designed to catch the attention of the Academy. John Malkovich gives a fine performance as Reverend Gustav Briegleb, a Presbyterian minister intent on exposing corruption in the LAPD, and Christine’s only ally in a world of men determined to discredit her protests, regardless of how glaringly logical they are.

One might expect the villain of the piece to be Gordon Northcott, a man who kidnapped and brutally murdered twenty young boys, but Eastwood wisely side-steps the traditional serial-killer-thriller, instead focusing on the unfolding drama between Collins and the infuriatingly smug Captain Jones of the LAPD (played by Jeffrey Donovan). Even the climactic scenes in which the killer is brought to trial focus more readily and relevantly on the case against the LAPD.

It’s a characteristically impressive  piece of filmmaking from Eastwood, who is consistently proving himself to be as good, if not better, as a director than an actor. In dealing with recurring themes of corruption, discrimination, and parenthood, Eastwood has created a powerful drama to remind us of society’s ills, and to showcase an underdog’s struggle to overcome prejudice and initiate change.

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CLICK HERE To Read The Write-up on

Changeling (2008) – (Movies To See Before You Die – Suspense / Drama)

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Your valuable comments are awaited at

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slightly as she stole a sideways glance at Oscar nominees Brad and Angie, who were seated right in the first row. Cameras & Camcorders

But the former Friends star recovered quickly and even grinned slyly in Brad’s direction. “She gave him a bit of a wink, too,” the source reveals to OK\. “And Brad was smiling from ear to ear back at Jen, as if he were pleased she was on stage, so he would have a legitimate reason to look at her.” Flash Memory

Angie, however, seemed oblivious to her partner’s sidelong glances at his former wife and even laughed politely at Jen and Jack’s scripted banter, perhaps glad that the collision was taking place before a worldwide audience and not one evening earlier, at the Night Before party, as everyone had feared. Subwoofer Speakers

At the last moment on Feb. 21, Brad and the 33-year-old Changeling star decided to skip that event, a fund-raiser for the Motion Picture and Television fund, held at the Beverly Hills Hotel and attended by A-listers like Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Jerry Seinfeld, Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker. Flat-Panel TVs

HUNG UP

Jen, meanwhile, popped into the party for just a few hours before leaving to host a lavish affair of her own at her new $15 million Beverly Hills estate, where she welcomed pals Courteney Cox and husband David Arquette, along with Tobey Maguire and his pregnant spouse, Jen Meyer.

And the He’s Just Not That Into You actress had made a celebration of the entire weekend, attending a Grey Goose-sponsored soiree at LA.’s Cecconi restaurant on Feb. 20.

“Jen came in with two girlfriends and looked amazing,” an onlooker tells OK\. “She hung out and

THEIR ‘BOND’
Brad Pitt, 45, Professional Joomlaand Angelina Jolie, 33, light up the red carpet at the Feb. 8 BAFTA Categoriesceremony in London, where they were both nominated Designfor awards. “It was a great performance,” Angelina’s once-estranged father, JonVoight, 70, tells OK! of his daughter’s work in The Changeling, adding, “I have seen Angie (recently).”

…or movie lists, more to the point. I often find myself in the mood to watch movies in groups. Sometimes I’ll spend a week watching films by a single director, or star, sometimes I group by theme.

I have decided (randomly and for the purposes of this blog) to determine these groupings at the start of the week and to share my selections with you, just in case any of my fellow compulsives out there wanted to follow suit.

This week’s theme: Period Los Angeles Crime Dramas

1. L.A. Confidential – Based on a fantastic novel by James Ellroy, and featuring great performances by Kevin Spacey & Russell Crowe, this one (like all great L.A. mysteries) is full of lies, deception and coruption.

2. The Black Dahlia – Not a masterpiece like Confidential (by any stretch of the imagination), but still a nicely atmospheric period piece based on another James Ellroy book. Don’t go looking for great acting or solid plot (cause it ain’t there), instead immerse yourself in the feel of the film and you won’t be too disappointed.

3. Hollywoodland – This is a good one. Based on the real life mystery surrounding the death of TV actor George Reeves (Superman), with Ben Affleck actually giving a great performance (in flashback) as Reeves, this one has plenty of twists and turns to go with the setting.

4. Changeling – No, not the ghost flick with George C. Scott, this one’s a twisty little drama directed by Clint Eastwood and written by J. Michael Stracynski. Well done from every angle.

5. Chinatown – You knew this was coming, right? Directed by Roman Polanski and starring Jack Nicholson, this is THE definitive L.A. private eye story. With one of the best (and most quoted) final scenes in film history.

Extra Credit – Dark Blue – Although this one doesn’t fit the same period (it takes place in the 90’s, during the Rodney King riots) it sure has the feel. Lies and corruption and this time Kurt Russell’s along for the ride. Worth checking out.

Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire
368 pages
Publisher: DAW (September 1, 2009)
ISBN-10: 0756405718

October Daye is a changeling woman, half human and half fae, just trying to make a living as a private investigator while raising her daughter and loving her human fiancé. When she is forcibly enchanted by a man she is tailing for her faerie liege lord, she not only loses fourteen years of her life to being a fish, she loses everything she worked for in the human world, including her family. When an old faerie friend, Evening Winterrose, puts a binding on Toby to find the person who killed Evening, Toby is forced to dive headfirst back into the politics and machinations of the faerie realm and the responsibilities of being a knight of the realm, whether she likes it or not.

For a first novel, Rosemary and Rue is imaginative and inventive. Urban fantasy is being done to death these days, but McGuire managed to come up with some new aspects of Fae that I’ve never heard of before. I won’t spoil the book by giving anything away, but let’s just say changelings are cool. The interactions between Fae and the human world are well described, and the relationships between the characters are believable and even touching at times.

The book tries to take a noir approach to the story, throwing in meetings in dark alleys and gun shots in the park. Unfortunately, Toby doesn’t come off as a very good private investigator at the end of the book. She seems to merely careen from one crisis to another without stopping to gather clues, questions suspects or witnesses, or really think things through at all. All her discoveries and Ah Ha! moments are thrown literally in her path, and she spends a disappointing amount of time being unconscious or injured.

It’s no fun for the readers when their heroine spends more time being rescued than solving the case or rescuing anyone herself. It can be temporarily put off by the circumstances surrounding Toby during her first case back on the job, so to speak, but there will hopefully be some improvement in her investigative abilities and procedures in the next book coming out in March of 2010.

Toby herself is a great character, aside from her tendency to become the damsel in distress rather than the knight in shining armor. There are allusions to several previous great deeds she performed in order to gain her knighthood, so her careless and reckless behavior becomes even more confusing. Hopefully we’ll learn more about her back story as the series progresses, and she’ll get her head on a little straighter. It is heartening to see a character at least cast in the role of knight, even if she’s not playing it that well at the moment. She is otherwise very independent, willing to take physical risks, and does at times display some pretty sharp intelligence.

There are a few characters of color or mentions of other, non-European aspects of faerie, including the Kitsune, a Japanese fox faerie known for its wisdom and intelligence. The character described as a Kitsune is a powerful and sharp woman, ruling equally with her Fae husband. There is also mention of an Undine friend of Toby being Asian in her features, and there are two changeling kids that Toby befriends who may be Hispanic. All four characters play very important roles in the storyline, so that’s a big plus. However, all the romantic relationships portrayed are hetero-normative, which is a little disappointing.

Overall, this is a unique take on a popular sub-genre, and I’m willing to give McGuire the benefit of the doubt when it comes to her P.I. descriptions and character development of Toby. I’ll keep looking for more diverse faerie origins and relationships. I’ll be picking up the second book in March and keeping my fingers crossed.

     Ok.  SO now I get to the point of this blog.  Discussions about my favorite form of entertainment, horror movies.  I will have two different lists for this topic.  One will be the “scariest” horror movies of all time, and one will be the “best” horror movies of all time.  I seperate them, because some of the best, weren’t necessarily the scariest. just well made, and well directed. 

Here is my list of the scariest movies ever made:

15.  Arachnophobia ~1990.  This was more comedy than it was horror, but I cannot remember a movie that gave me more active “heeby-jeebies” than this one.  This was about a shitload of pissed off deadly spiders, but not cheesy like many of the monster, bug, mutated nature type movies.  Well made.

14.  Poltergeist ~ 1982.  You could probably chalk this up to the fact that I was a youth when I saw it, but come on.  Devils in your closet?  Killer clown dolls?  Creey thunderstorms?  Evil trees that come to life?  Caskets (with corpses) popping through the floor of your murky off season swimming pool?  Fuck that.  Creepy movie.

13.  28 Days Later ~ 2002.  I remember when zombies were slow, blue, lumbering creatures that could be easily avoided with some common sense, or a whipped cream pie to the face.  Not any more.  These zombies are highly fucking motivated, and creepy as shit. 

12.   Alien ~ 1979.  Space.  Trapped.  Big, pissed off creature wants to kill you.

11.  The Blair Witch Project ~ 1999.  I actually knew this was fake going in, and I still got caught up in the action.  This film is remarkable in the atmosphere and horror it can create without ever showing a bad guy, or any real blood for that matter.

10.  Jaws ~ 1975.  Ruined the ocean for me, just like it did for all the rest of you.  Just a great, creepy, great movie.

9.  1408 ~ 2007.  I know… John Cusack (maybe his dog ugly sister…) in a horror movie?  I thought the same thing.  This is a genuinely eerie haunted hotel flick.  I found this to be even more creepy than “The Shining”.  The pacing and constant fear of what will happen next is what makes this film so intense.  It never really lets up.

8.  The Ring ~ 2002.  I know I am going to catch a lot of shit for this one; but when that thing crawled out of the TV, I felt like crawling through the wall behind my couch.

7.  [Rec] ~ 2007.  This is the original Spanish version of the American release: “Quarantine”.   This is about a strange infestation in an apartment building, where all of the characters have been locked in, or “quarantined”.  Very claustrophobic, and VERY creepy.  For those of you that saw “Quarantine”, don’t be turned off.  This is a far superior film, with a MUCH hotter main character.

6.  Ju-On ~ 2002.  The original Japanese movie of which “The Grudge” was based.  Haunted house, blue ghosts (moving a much more intense version of that creepy, staggered shit that you saw in “The Grudge”), and lots of victims.  This one actually made me turn on lights when I got out of the bed to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

5.  Session 9 ~ 2001.  Old Asylum needs to be cleared of asbestos before it can be remodeled and renovated.  On comes the asbestos cleaning crew, assigned to work (alone) in this creepy ass building all alone.  The atmosphere in this movie is really intense.  I cannot believe how under the radar this film went.  Most real horror fans have seen it, and most loved it.  Really good flick.

4.  Repulsion ~ 1965.  Old school Polanski (pre rape); better than “Rosemary’s Baby”.  This is a slowly developed movie that will really get into your head.  Like most horror movies, this one is best watched alone, in a dark room, with no interruptions.  Watch as a young, (hot), woman descends into madness while left alone in her home for a week.  This one will stay with you for awhile.

3.  Texas Chainsaw Massacre ~ 1974.  Tobe Hooper at his absolute best.  This movie will scare the bejesus out of you.  Contrary to it’s reputation, this film has very little blood.  What it does have is a grainy, homemade feel that will make you want to take a shower immediately after watching.  It is raw, intense, and scary as shit.

2.  Inside (À l’intérieur) ~ 2007.  This is a French film that will completely fuck with your head.  No female that has ever been (or ever plans to be) pregnant should watch this film.  I have NEVER seen a protagonist so tortured in a movie in my life.  This is not one of the nouveaux  “torture porn” flicks.  This is just pure adrenaline filled insanity.  My wife walked out of the room 20 minutes into the film, something she has never done before.  I simply cannot recommend this one enough.

1.  The Changeling ~ 1980.  Haunted house flick starring the great George C. Scott.  This is a haunted house movie that just flat out scared the shit out of me.  You will never look at a rubber ball or a wheelchair the same way again after this one.

Sinopse: Los Angeles, março de 1928. Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie), mãe solteira, se despede de Walter, seu filho de 9 anos e parte para o trabalho. Ao voltar, descobre que seu filho despareceu e inicia uma busca exaustiva. Cinco meses depois a polícia trás uma criança dizendo ser seu filho. Atordoada pela emoção da situação, mais a pressão da imprensa e polícia, que desejam tirar proveito da repercussão do caso, Christine aceita a criança. Porém, ela sabe que aquele menino não é o seu filho e continuará na luta para encontrá-lo. Baseado na história verídica que ficou conhecida como “Wineville Chicken Coop Murders”.

O inquietante e magnífico filme “Changeling” (A troca), dirigido por Clint Eastwood, foi baseado num pavoroso fato real ocorrido na primeira década de 1920. Uma truculenta história do seqüestro e assassinato de 20 meninos, que expôs ao grande público a corrupção no Departamento de Polícia de Los Angeles e recebeu a atenção de toda a imprensa norte-americana da época. Entre os meninos desaparecidos encontrava-se Walter Collins

ARTIGO ESCRITO POR MARJORIE DRISCOL – LA TIMES, 1928.

“O que aconteceu com Walter Collins, 10 anos de idade em Los angeles, rapaz que foi raptado a 5 meses atrás? Ele está morto, torturado, talvez vingança de conhecidos de seu pais para pagar os erros sombrios de da penitenciária Folso? Ou ele está vivo, e seguro por trás da máscara impenetrável por ser um ator talentoso? Este estranho enigma, que confronta as autoridades de LA, constitui um dos mais envolventes e enlouquecedores casos juvenis em registro. O drama é feito por uma criança – inegavelmente forte e talentosa, e da parcela que existe de fundo colorida por uma assassinato na fazenda, onde pelo menos 4 rapazes tiveram morte latente, nas mãos de um misterioso bando de raptores.
Walter Collins, feliz rapaz de 10 anos, desapareceu a 5 meses atrás. Até agora, como sua mãe, Sra Christine Collins sabia, ele estava brincando perto de sua casa. Já estava muito escuro, ele não retornava e ela resolveu chamar a polícia. A notícia foi declarada a nível nacional, mas não havia nenhuma pista do paradeiro de Walter. Finalmente foi dado como perdido, e possivelmente como morto. Depois, há algumas semanas atrás, um rapaz apareceu em LA e disse ser Walter Collins. Ele foi trazido por policiais que aqui contam sua história:

Walter tinha sido entregue a eles pela polícia de Illinois. A foto do filho desaparecido havia rodado o país e os policiais haviam reconhecido “Walter”. Era um caso estranho, num primeiro momento o rapaz negou sua identidade, mas depois de um longo interrogatório disse que era sim Walter Collins e que estava ansioso para voltar para sua mãe em LA.

Mas ,para Sra Collins seu momento de alegria no seu reaparecimento foi tomada de apreensão. “Sim” – ela disse, “Ele parece com Walter, e atua como meu filho mas eu não estou certa disso. Ele sempre me chamava de mãe, este me chama de “ma” (sotaque típico da região rural americana – nota). Espero que seja o meu filho, mas não posso crê-lo.” Em seguida os peritos levantaram as sobrancelhas em surpresa, pois é uma coisa muito rara a mãe não reconhecer o próprio filho. Para a polícia não havia dúvida da identidade, e eles basearam-se em provas aparentemente convincentes.

Quando foi levado de volta para LA era óbvio que sua memória havia sido afetada, passando cinco meses nas mãos de sequestradores. Eles então fizeram uma série de testes para provar que o menino era realmente Walter Collins.

Primeiro ele foi obrigado a seguir um homem e achar o local que costumava viver. Para satisfação das autoridades ele achou o caminho, mesmo sendo imputado a pegar outras rotas. Em seguida “Walter” foi levado para casa de vários amigos, ele notou que uma ex-amiga havia mudado a mobilia e notou outras mudanças. Mas deixou de reconhecer o nome de vários amigos e sua memória falhou completamente. Os peritos, porém, foram convencidos. “Ele é seu filho Sra Collins “, disseram. Evidentemente os sequestradores pediram para ele esquecer tudo da sua vida antes do sequestro, ameaçando-o fisicamente se ele não fizesse isso. Sob tais circunstâncias, é completamente possível que uma criança tenha esquecido ligações óbvias de memória, mas temos certeza que ele é Walter Collins.

Sra Collins ainda não havia sido convencida e um novo teste foi concebido. O amigo mais próximo de Walter era Tiny um cão spaniel preto. Todos poderiam errar mas o cão reconheceria seu camarada de 6 meses antes. Então todos concordaram que Tiny deveria decidir.

Mais uma vez a opinião dos peritos foi feito juistiça. Só foi Tiny ver Walter que ele se apressou para ele, lambendo suas mãos que evidenciou muito sinal de afeto. “Isso comprova”, disse os especialistas, e desta vez Sra Collins foi obrigada a concordar.

“Sim”, ela disse, “Eu suponho que sim, suponho que ele é Walter, depois de tudo. Mas não posso livar de mim um medo oculto que este garoto não é o meu filho”. Ela foi informada pelos psicólogos para tomar medidas para livrar-se dessas somras suspeitas e providenciar para que Walter vá para um acampamento, começar vida nova e se livrar do passado caótico.

Por uma semana tudo foi considerado satisfatoriamente resolvido. Os psicólogos passaram muitas notas, estudando o estranho caso. Walter era relutante em falar sobre o sequestro. Ele forneceu apenas escassos detalhes. Ele estava brincando, quando um homem se aproximou e disse que sua mão pediu para comprarem roupas novas. Então ele foi sozinho com o estranho. Em seguida contou estórias fragmentadas sobre o país, como os sequestradores queriam qeu ele roubasse e, então o abandonou. Ele foi, então, trabalhar numa fazenda, quando as autoridades o encontrou. Sua história porém foi muito vaga sobre pontos importantes.

Os peritos tiveram pouca dificuldade em encontrar motivo para o sequestro. O pai de Walter está na Penitenciária folsom, onde cumpre longa pena. Vários homens, que convivem na cadeia com o pai, foram soltos, e dois em particular foram recém libertados. As autoridades supõem que os sequestradores agiram num acerto de contas.

Porém, outro dia, de repente, vieram novas revelações. A polícia descobriu vestígios de uma assassino numa fazenda de galinhas, numa outra parte da Califórnia. Eles foram procurando uma mulher e seu filho, acreditando estarem implicados no assassinato de 4 meninos. Pegaram um menino de nome “Clark”, que foi detido na quinta, depois de fugir.

Poderia Clark, identificar qualquer uma das vítimas do massacre na fazenda de galinhas? Ele poderia. E disse de dois rapazes. Um deles era Walter Collins. “Mas”, observava a polícia, “Walter Collins já voltou para casa. Ele já está com sua mãe e disse tudo osbre o seu rapto. Certamente Walter não poderia estar entre as vítimas da fazenda.”

Porém, o jovem Clark estva irredutível, então um novo chek-up foi iniciado, e foi então que a polícia, os psicologos, e até mesmo Tiny, tiveram o choque da sua vida. O retornado Walter foi interrogado e finalmente ele falou: “Não, não sou Walter Collins, eu só estava brincando que era.”

As autoridades ficaram assombradas, quase não acreditavam. Mas, opôs, os psicologos, este menino deve ser Walter, ele caminhou com um homem até sua casa, reconheceu móveis dos amigos, passou por todos nossos intricados testes e até o cão? “Isso pode ser, respondeu a centrada Collins, mas eu sempre senti que essa criança não era meu filho, e acreditampos na sua confissão. Ele não é o meu Walter.”

Para os peritos o caso era mistificado. Finalmente eles foram levados a desistir do desnorteamento. Quem e onde está Walter Collins, ninguém parece capaz de responder. O menino da fazenda illinois disse que era Walter Collins e provou, agora diz que não é mais e que sua história é tão verdadeira que as autoridades são obrigadas a reconhecer. Ele não sabe sequer o seu próprio nome, e disse que estava cansado de trabalhar na fazenda.

Entretanto o garoto Clark, disse que Walter foi vítima de um brutal assassinato na fazenda, e a polícia está fazendo esforço para identificar os restos mortais encontrados. O que se tem certeza que as autoridades aceitram o reconhecimento de Tiny em detrimento da mãe, e os psicologos após testarem todos os testes científicos conhecidos, finalmente invocou o velho teste de saber se o cão iria reconhecer o rapaz opu não. Houve, certamente, boa base para fazer o teste do cão. A capacidade do cão reconhecer seu dono é conhecida a milhares de anos. Ao relacionar a historia de Ulisses, ao voltar para casa disfarçado de mendigo e ser acolhido pelo seu cão que lhe lambeu a mão e pulou em cima dele pela alegria de seu retorno.

Tem havido muitos casos nos tribunais dos EUA, por ter havido conflito pela propriedade de cães, e ter sido decidido deixar que cada um dos requerentes chamar os animais envolvidose declarar que o prorietário é aquele que o cão responder com mais entusiasmo. Então o povo de LA estva bastante contente em saber que Walter havia voltado.

O que realmente aconteceu com Walter Collins, possivelmente nunca será conhecido, mas as autoridades concordam que seu estrnaho caso tem contribuido muito para os anais dos conhecimentos psicológicos. Adimitem que o raciocínio empírico, deve ser aplicado na área da psicologia: deduções devem ser baseadas em experiências passadas.

Por exemplo, dizem, a solução lógica para o caso parecia residir no fato que o rapaz regressou, quem assumiu ser o falso Walter, tinha fechado corredores de memória, como dizemos na profissão. Quando o rapaz voltou para sua “casa” ele encontrou sua “mãe” agindo estranhamente em direção dele. Evidentemente, isso é explicado agora, mas sua opção fria no recebimento do “filho”, só aumentou a nebulosidade que envolvera seu cérebro. Acreditávamos que sua condição foi realmente intensificada pelas circustâncias de seu retorno e que estavam prontos para aceitar muitas discrepâncias na sua história. Esperávamos como resultado natural, sua fria recepção no regresso.”

Assim o mistério do menino têm nebulado LA, parecendo para os peritos o mais desconcertante enigma que enfrentaram durante anos. Ele lhes havia convencido que era uma pessoa, agora convence que é outra. O que vêm depois? Certamente a polícia não pode responder a esta pergunta. Eles só temem que “Walter” voltará a mudar sua história, e eles estão com medo que ele será capaz de convênce-los que é uma terceira pessoa! E isso seria uma enorme bagunça, todo mundo concorda.”

Não se sabe ao certo o ano da morte de Christine Collins. Há muita divergência nos sites consultados, a última notícia publicada sobre ela data da década de 40, quando ela processou o delegado da época do sequestro, exigindo indenização de 10.800 dólares.

Não existe notícia ou fato sobre o reverendo, interpretado no filme por Jhon Malkovich.

Reparem, também, que em nenhum momento é citado no jornal o “Código 12″, lugar onde a Sra Collins ficou internada por vários diascontra sua vontade no pavilhão psiquiátrico do Hospital Geral do Condado, sob a alegação de que estava negando o próprio filho e que este era um indicativo de insanidade.

O Código 12 é um lugar em que  todos aqueles que se opunham ao departamento de policia e precisavam ser retirados de circulação, mas não tinham algo plausível para serem detidos, eram colocados no Código 12.

“This film is a horror story for adults, not for thrill-seeking kids.”

Clint Eastwood, 2008

Clint Eastwood è diventato nel corso degli ultimi vent’anni uno dei più lucidi e disincantati narratori del cinema americano.

Ha raccontato il disgregarsi del sogno americano nella musica, come nel cinema e nella politica, ha osato mettere in discussione le verità della giustizia e le convinzioni della morale, ha messo a nudo i meccanismi della propaganda di guerra, mostrandoci nel contempo tutta la dignità degli sconfitti.

Nei suoi western crepuscolari ha cercato di togliere ogni alone romantico al mito della frontiera, destrutturando la figura del cowboy, come quella del bounty hunter.

Nonostante i suoi 78 anni, Eastwood passa da un progetto all’altro con invidiabile leggerezza, ancora una volta in controtendenza rispetto al mito dell’autore bisognoso di affermare la propria visione attraverso lente elaborazioni, lunghe riprese, attori spinti al limite dello sfinimento, budget sforati e polemiche infinite.

Changeling, presentato in concorso al Festival di Cannes, accolto con reazioni contrastanti dalla critica europea e da quella americana, è stato snobbato dalla giuria guidata da Sean Penn, che ha deciso di assegnare al regista californiano un inconsueto premio alla carriera, quasi a testimoniare un apprezzamento, che va al di là degli esiti della sua ultima opera.

Ed in effetti il film appare come una nota stonata nella complessa partitura, iniziata da Eastwood a 41 anni con Brivido nella notte – Play Misty for Me.

Il film era stato scritto per Ron Howard, che ha ceduto a Eastwood la regia, rimanendo produttore con il fido Brian Grazer e questa eredità si sente tutta nella struttura, nella caratterizzazione dei personaggi e nel tono generale.

Persino la protagonista, Angelina Jolie, è stata suggerita a Eastwood dalla produzione.

Si può comprendere che la storia vera di Christine Collins,  che combatte per ritrovare il proprio figlio, nonostante l’ostilità feroce dell’LAPD, dell’istituzione psichiatrica e dell’assurda e corrotta burocrazia cittadina, nella Los Angeles 1928, abbia sollecitato l’interesse di un regista che ha sempre raccontato, fin dai tempi di Callahan, la lotta del singolo contro ogni “potere assoluto”.

Eppure qui mancano del tutto l’ambiguità morale ed il chiaroscuro che hanno fatto la fortuna di Mystic River, di Million Dollar Baby, o di Letters from Iwo Jima.

Il radicalismo etico non potrebbe essere più evidente, come nemmeno nei film di Frank Capra: i buoni sono immacolati, senza incertezze o secondi fini, i cattivi sono la caricatura della malvagità irrazionale.

La lotta della madre single, interpretata con adesione totale da Angelina Jolie, contro una città intera che la crede matta e la rinchiude in un ospedale psichiatrico, dopo averle riconsegnato un figlio non suo, è talmente incredibile da sfidare ogni approccio razionale.

La polizia, gli psichiatri, il sindaco sono così insensibili e crudeli, da meritarsi di essere spazzati di via dal ciclone-Christine.

Il manicheismo di (Howard) Eastwood, ricerca l’adesione e l’emozione, sciogliendo in una storia troppo lunga, anche momenti di notevole felicità espressiva.

La prima parte, nella quale viene ricostruita la vita della capo-centralinista Christine e del suo piccolo Walter, nella Los Angeles del 1928 è notevole.

La fotografia di Tom Stern accarezza le auto d’epoca e i volti dei personaggi, lasciando sempre un’ombra nel quadro, come se la mancanza di piena luce preludesse all’oscurità del destino dei protagonisti.

La colonna sonora, come sempre essenziale, composta direttamente da Eastwood è magnifica nel ricostruire l’atmosfera degli anni ‘20.

E la scena della stazione ferroviaria, nella quale la polizia consegna a Christine un bambino non suo, costringendola a portarlo a casa, nonostante l’evidenza, è un altro momento di crudele bellezza.

Quando il piccolo impostore afferma con sicurezza “mi chiamo Walter Collins” ed abbraccia la presunta madre, un brivido di terrore si legge sul viso di Christine.

Changeling naturalmente è un perfetto meccanismo hollywoodiano, piegato all’esaltazione della performance attoriale della Jolie.

La sceneggiatura non le risparmia nulla: si passa da una scena madre all’altra, attraverso il martirio dell’ospedale psichiatrico, l’elettroshock evitato per un soffio e la notizia della probabile morte del figlio.

Eppure mentre l’approccio di Eastwood aveva condotto a performance superlative nei suoi film precedenti, lungo il sottile confine tra realismo e melodramma, qui la Jolie hurtles though Changeling as if it were the latest installement in the Lara Croft action franchise, sustaining a pitch of intensity that turns Christine at once into a vivid icon of suffering and something of a blur[1].

Certo l’attrice non è aiutata da un personaggio unidimensionale e piatto – inutile persino per vincere un immeritato oscar – dal quale sarebbe stato difficile trarre di più.

Dopo circa novanta minuti il film sembrerebbe concludersi con lo smascheramento del bambino impostore, l’uscita della Jolie dal manicomio e la cruda scoperta del tragico destino del figlio Walter.

Invece la sceneggiatura di Michael Straczynski ricomincia da capo e la storia della madre vessata, alla ricerca del proprio figlio, si trasforma in quella di due processi, contro la polizia, per averla ingiustamente internata, e contro il vero serial killer, che forse ha ucciso il piccolo Walter.

Eastwood fortunatamente ci risparmia gli stereotipi più triti sul courtroom drama e procede per bellissime ellissi, in parallelo tra le due aule di giustizia.

I processi segneranno una vittoria effimera per Christine, che non saprà mai se Walter è riuscito a scappare dalle grinfie del killer o se è stato ucciso insieme agli altri 20 bambini rapiti.

La straordinaria scena dell’esecuzione della condanna a morte, è un colpo d’ala dell’Eastwood migliore e ci lascia intravvedere, attraverso la notevole figura del serial killer, interpretato con originalità e ambiguità da Jason Butler Harner, cosa sarebbe potuto essere Changeling con una sceneggiatura diversa, che avesse evitato di sposare il punto di vista di Christine, in un film di denuncia nato vecchio e incredibilmente affidato al meno politically correct dei registi americani.

Naturalmente il meccanismo drammatico, pur obsoleto, funziona perfettamente, si parteggia per l’umiliata ed offesa Christine e si assapora il suo trionfo tardivo, che non allevierà la sua pena di madre.

Si scrutano le rughe d’espressione sul volto della Jolie e le sue braccia sottili, si ammira la determinazione del pastore, interpretato da John Malkovich, e ci si accorge, ancora una volta, di quanto sia brava Amy Ryan in una parte minore, in cui risplende il suo innegabile talento.

Ma quello che lascia perplessi è il tipo di cinema che Changeling si incarica di rappresentare, in cui i buoni e i cattivi sono separati da un oceano di buone ragioni e dove il pubblico è invitato a scegliere una parte, invece di porsi domande più impegnative.

Il mediocre script di Straczynski ha tratto in inganno anche Eastwood, il cui sguardo è sempre stato lontano dalle semplificazioni di Changeling.

Changeling **