What is the iRankMovies score for Changeling?

Name: Changeling
Director: Clint Eastwood
Genre: crime, drama, mystery
Released: 2008
Duration: 2 h 22 min
Rating: 7.7

Changeling has an iRankMovies score of 69.8/100, based on a weighted combination of IMDb (×3.0), Rotten Tomatoes (×2.0), Metacritic (×1.5), and TMDb (×1.0).

Changeling (2008)

To find her son, she did what no one else dared.

Release:2008

Runtime:2h 22m

Country:United States

Director:Clint Eastwood

Language:English

Genre

CrimeDramaMystery

See the best crime movies →

Keywords

BiographyBased On True StoryClergymanChild In PerilPolice CorruptionLos Angeles CaliforniaSingle MotherStreet Urchin

iRank70

Changeling rating: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic

IMDb7.7/10· 273K votes

Rotten Tomatoes61%

Metacritic63%

TMDb7.58/10· 4K votes

With 61% on Rotten Tomatoes, backed by 7.7/10 on IMDb and 63/100 on Metacritic, critical reception of this film has been mixed.

About Changeling

Los Angeles, 1928. When single mother Christine Collins leaves for work, her son vanishes without a trace. Five months later, the police reunite mother and son. But when Christine suspects that the boy returned to her isn't her child, her quest for truth exposes a world of corruption.

Cast of Changeling

Angelina Jolie
as Christine Collins
John Malkovich
as Rev. Gustav Briegleb
Jeffrey Donovan
as Captain J.J. Jones
Michael Kelly
as Detective Lester Ybarra
Colm Feore
as Chief James E. Davis
Jason Butler Harner
as Gordon Northcott
Amy Ryan
as Carol Dexter
Geoff Pierson
as S.S. Hahn
Denis O'Hare
as Dr. Jonathan Steele
Frank Wood
as Ben Harris
Peter Gerety
as Dr. Earl W. Tarr
Reed Birney
as Mayor Cryer

Changeling facts

Budget: $55M
Box office: $113.4M

Our take on Changeling

Clint Eastwood's 2008 drama unfolds in Los Angeles in 1928, when single mother Christine Collins returns from work to find her young son gone without a trace. Five months later the police reunite them, but Christine becomes convinced the boy they hand back is not her child, and her insistence on the truth drags her into a world of institutional corruption. Restrained and period-precise, the film pairs a mother's grief with a broader indictment of unchecked power. Viewers who value slow-burning historical dramas anchored by a strong central performance will find it absorbing. It rewards patience over thrills, favoring moral outrage and quiet devastation rather than easy resolution.

Ranked by the iRankMovies editorial teamUpdated August 2026Methodology Data sources

Audience opinions

What the audience liked

•True crime mystery crafted with meticulous attention to historical detail
•Lead performance carries emotional weight of wrongful accusation narrative arc
•Clint Eastwood direction maintains suspenseful tension throughout mystery unfolding