"It is 10PM. Do You Know Where Your Children Are?"

A whole bunch of decades ago, this was the announcement made just prior to NY's Metromedia Channel 5's nightly newscast hosted by that always ominous sounding anchorman Bill Jorgensen. He could make the Mets' winning the World Series sound like a nuclear attack. This guy really gave me nightmares.

The same announcement could have been the pitch meeting for Clint Eastwood's newest movie, "Changeling." At the very least, director Eastwood knows how to tell a story and always in a highly stylized manner. You might not like his films but you always leave the theater knowing you have learned something and seen something. Generally, you don't get the same feeling after a Will Smith movie. Except perhaps that you learn that you've seen nothing for your fourteen books.

"Changeling" tells the allegedly true story of Christine Collins, a single hard-working mom in 1928 Los Angeles, whose son suddenly disappears. The LA police, as inept then as they are now, find the kid, but Mom says it isn't. How can that be? I'm not saying. But the journey is one, while a trifle long at 2 hours and 30 minutes, you want to make. Because the personal drama and police corruption and sleazy political machinations could have been ripped out of the pages of today's Los Angeles Times. The story grabs hold and doesn't let go. There are two plot threads that you know will come together. Yet, you are still surprised when they do towards the end.

Clint crafts a terrific visual treat. It almost appears as if the movie was filmed eighty years ago. The trolleys, the automobiles, the sparse landscape of then downtown Los Angeles all look and feel right. The only thing missing was a shot of people lined up for a 10 cent French Dip sandwich at Philippe's, which was already in business back then.

Thanks to the director, I can now say that I have finally enjoyed and appreciated Angelina Jolie as an actress. Now, I will admit that she is a kook who can act. She actually looks like she was there in 1928 Los Angeles, worrying second-by-second over the son that has apparently morphed into the smog. Despite the trauma of her life, you never see the character without about a pound of lip gloss on her face. Of course, that was the way it was back then. Lots of women wouldn't leave their houses if they hadn't applied make-up with a spatula. The make-up alone should get an Oscar nomination. It almost acted like another character in the movie.

Nevertheless, as much as I enjoyed "Changeling," a major plot point nagged me as I left the theater. And bothered me the next day. And is still bothering me today. When the Angelina Jolie character tries to explain to the police that this kid is not her son, she does so by showing that his height is smaller and that this kid is circumcised while her son was not. Even though that would be a solid line of defense in most courts, the cops dismiss it all. Yet, the easiest way this woman could have fought back was by simply showing them a picture of her son. I could not believe that this mother didn't have a single photo or even one of those tintypes. Of course, had this happened, the movie wouldn't have been longer than your average Popeye cartoon. Who knows? Maybe the real woman did not have a photo, so Eastwood focused on realism. Yet, it's still a plot turn that almost sinks the movie.

But doesn't. See it. "Changeling" is for smart moviegoers. And, if you're from New York, it will remind you of that sinister Bill Jorgensen all over again.

No wonder I haven't been sleeping at night.

Dinner last night: Eggplant parmagiana at Maria's Italian Kitchen.