By Christopher Stipp
The Archives, Right Here
For those of you caught in the lonely desert wasteland that is the Southwest and wonder why those on east and west coast get all the early screenings I am here to say that you now have an advantage to be living in Bumwad, America.
I have passes galore for Angelina Jolie’s CHANGELING and it’s playing at 7:00 p.m. in Tucson (where my personal favorites CAN’T FIND ME LOVE and REVENGE OF THE NERDS was filmed), Albequerque (where one this year’s best comedies, HAMLET 2, was put to celluloid) and Phoenix (RAISING ARIZONA, anyone?).
So, come one, come all and if you want a pass just shoot me a note at Christopher_Stipp@yahoo.com. It’s as easy as that.
Here’s the synopsis for those who don’t know:
Clint Eastwood directs Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich in a provocative thriller based on actual events: Changeling. In the film, Christine Collins’ (Jolie) prayers are met when her kidnapped son is returned. But amidst the frenzy of the photo-op reunion, she realizes this child is not hers. Facing corrupt police and a skeptical public, she desperately hunts for answers, only to be confronted by a truth that will change her forever.
Los Angeles, 1928: On a Saturday morning in a working-class suburb, Christine said goodbye to her son, Walter, and left for work. When she came home, she discovered he had vanished. A fruitless search ensues, and months later, a boy claiming to be the nine-year-old is returned. Dazed by the swirl of cops, reporters and her conflicted emotions, Christine allows him to stay overnight. But in her heart, she knows he is not Walter.
As she pushes authorities to keep looking, she learns that in Prohibition-era L.A., women don’t challenge the system and live to tell their story. Slandered as delusional and unfit, Christine finds an ally in activist Reverend Briegleb (Malkovich), who helps her fight the city to look for her missing boy. Based on the actual incident that rocked California’s legal system, Changeling tells the shocking tale of a mother’s quest to find her son, and those who won’t stop until they silence her.
