Rewriting history — again

Posted on | March 17, 2009 | 1 Comment

Yes, I know that it’s 2009. And, yes, I know we’re practically through the first quarter of the year.

Still, I can’t help but go back to my Best Written Movies of 2008 list and revise it as I slowly but surely play catch up and watch all of the Oscar nominated films from last year.

The latest critically acclaimed movies I recently watched were both directed by Clint Eastwood: Gran Torino and Changeling. Both are amazing movies, and it could be said for both that it’s because it all started with the scripts.

Nick Schenk wrote the screenplay for Gran Torino (based on a story by him and Dave Johannson), giving Eastwood an opportunity to not only direct an emotional bulldog of a movie but also giving him a chance to play one of the most likable bigots on screen.

Eastwood plays a retired Korean War vet whose family is more interested in inheriting his home and cars rather than help him mourn after the death of his wife. Plus, he watches his Michigan neighborhood fall apart around him as more and more immigrants move in. When he catches his young Hmong neighbor trying to steal his vintage 1972 Ford Gran Torino, he’s drawn into a “strange” immigrant community and into an escalating war against local Asian gangsters.

As simple as that sounds, the screenplay is vividly complex — largely because it deals with its characters as full-blooded humans. Real. Flawed. Complicated. Schenk lays out in great detail the Hmong culture and how that plays in modern US society and gives Eastwood perhaps his most challenging role in a decade or more. Truly fantastic.

Then there’s Changeling by one of my all time favorite writers, J. Michael Straczynski. This man has single-handedly written the majority of the movies, TV shows, cartoons and comics that I’ve revered since I was a kid. And Changeling is no exception.

It is an original screenplay based on the true events of the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders. The film focuses on Christine Collins (played by Angelina Jolie) and her quest to find her kidnapped son, Walter. The Los Angeles police bring home a boy they claim to be Walter, and don’t want to hear it when Christine says they’ve got the wrong kid. Already corrupt and facing mounting criticism, the police ignore her complaints even when she has the dental records to prove it. Eventually, they try to sweep it all under the rug by throwing her into a pyschiatric ward.

The police actions give birth to an even more determined Christine, who is eventually freed and sets on a path to not only bring down the corrupt officials but also find her son.

Unless you’re familiar with this nearly 80-year-old kidnapping case, the script and movie come across as powerful, unpredictable, and (despite its depressing themes) hugely enthralling.

Both Changeling and Gran Torino are amazing works of art, and it’s no surprise the Eastwood directed both. But what makes both the films stand out are the scripts. Therefore, I’ve rewritten my Best Of 2008 list accordingly. Again.

BEST-WRITTEN MOVIES OF 2008

5. Iron Man The Dark Knight

4. Iron Man Tropic Thunder Gran Torino

3. Tropic Thunder The Dark Knight Changeling

2. The Dark Knight Kung Fu Panda

1. Slumdog Millionaire

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