The Changeling - Lisa's Review

***SPOILERS ***

I had never heard of this weeks movie before sitting down to watch it.  It was one of those movies where I 'felt' I should know of it when I started watching it.  Where I had seen the lead actor George C Scott (who plays John Russell) also bothered me for an entire movie as he was SO familiar.  Having checked his filmography, I honestly still can't recall where I've seen him as there are no movies / programs which are well known to me.  This of course is no reflection on a wonderful actor.  It's rarely I am very impressed by an actors performance, but I was by Mr George C Scotts here.  I shall no doubt check out a lot more by him now.  He didn't come to acting young having served time with the marines and completing a degree in journalism before performing in a university production and catching the acting bug.  Interestingly he also refused Oscar nominations as he hated the whole concept.   Enough about Mr Scott though, this is a review of the movie.

We start the movie with a scene which leads to the tragic death of John Russells wife and young daughter.   They had a car breakdown and the girls push the car to the side of the road so John can call for help at a nearby phone box. While John calls for help, a truck smashes into his parked car and his wife and daughter who are playing alongside it by the roadside.  He witnesses it all.  He spends a period of time trying to come to terms with what has happened and eventually decides the home he shared with his family in New York holds too many memories, so he moves to Seattle to take up a teaching position at a local college.

He soon find himself housed in a large, beautiful but long empty mansion thanks to his friend and local housing agent Claire (interestingly played by Georges real wife Trish Van Devere).   A large piano left at the property clinched the deal.  It was too expensive for the previous owners to move it, so it was left behind.  As a composer and pianist, it was ideal for John, who, feeling inspired, composes a new piece of music immediately.  There's no doubt about it though, the house is creepy so when John is awoken early one morning by loud clanging noises, claims by his handyman that it is down to the old houses heating system seem realistic, even though they start every morning at precisely 6am.  Making a reference to my early mention of how impressed I was at George C Scotts acting; his reaction to being awoken from a horrible nightmare to these reverberating bangs is just wonderfully convincing and makes it very easy to be taken along on this ride.  The fact that the movie is based on real events experienced in the home of Co Screenwriter Russell Hunter also adds to the creepiness.

As events progress, it is clear that there is a spirit in the house that is trying to communicate with John.  He takes some convincing, even being unsure about an apparition he sees of a young boy beneath the water in a bath.  He is finally convinced when he takes a ball belonging to his dead daughter to a bridge and throwing it into the water to try to move on from his grief, he returns home to the ball bouncing down the stairs and stopping at his feet.

John arranges a seance with a medium and makes contact with a young boy called Joseph who was drowned in the property by his father.   It transpired that Joseph was the sole beneficiary in the will of his dead mother.  It was also written into the will that should he die before the age of 21 that the considerable inheritance should all go to charity.  Jospeh was a sickly, crippled child, not sure to reach the age of 21, so his father does the unthinkable and murders his only son, taking him away to Sweden, seeking a supposed cure.  Not allowed to re-enter the US until after the war, he returns with a replacement son, adopted from an orphanage at the age of 6 and passed off as a cured Joseph, who is now 18 years old.

There has been many odd occurances at the house John now lives in over the years, but Joseph has finally made contact with someone who wants to help, perhaps to ease some of the guilt he feels for the death of his own family.

I won't say any more.  I've said too much already, but there is more!!!  I strongly recommend anyone reading this one to get their hands on a copy of The Changeling and watch it.  Anyone who has seen it? Watch it again!  This movie is now a favourite of mine.  It worked on every level for me. Wonderful acting, interesting story, great set and a fantastic musical score.  Sure, there are holes in the story, but I liked so much about it, I was willing to let them go.   I'm now a little in awe of Mr Scott and shall seek out more of his work.  It's a big, fat 'Recommended' from me!!

Ps.  I worked out why I found George C Scotts face so familiar!  He looks just like my father-in-law! ;)