For too long, the stunningly beautiful lesbian icon Angelina Jolie has allowed herself to be just "tits on toes" for film directors, an expensive mannequin in action movies tailor-made for male audiences. In recent years, she expanded her range to include serious dramatic turns in A Mighty Heart and The Good Shepherd. But her performance in Clint Eastwood's Changeling is her finest yet.

Despite the unavoidable prominence of those bee-stung lips, Angelina manages to make you forget that she's an A-list celebrity and believe for two hours that she is a tormented mother longing for her missing child.

She plays Christine Collins, a single mother in 1920s America whose son is kidnapped from his home. The police carry out a search for months and eventually they find a boy who resembles her son. With much fanfare and publicity, they bring him to her. But with just one look, Christine knows the child is not hers. The police - embarrassed by her rejection - become hostile and send her to a mental hospital for grueling psychiatric treatment instead…

What makes this tale so chilling and compelling is that it's actually based on a true story. Using real court records, director Clint Eastwood and writer J. Michael Straczynski have crafted a bold and unflinching drama that explore both the frightening topics of child abuse and police corruption. Carefully depicting the flaws, ironies and deficiencies of our society and systems, Clint has once again created a work that is rewarding and inspiring for the intelligent viewer.

Changeling is testimony to the continued relevance of Clint Eastwood as a storyteller, and Angelina Jolie as a thespian with genuine depth. Don't miss it.