by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
LaKeith Stanfield is slowly becoming a performer who I’ll watch, no matter what he’s in. Even if the movie is a dud (looking at you, the new Haunted Mansion), Stanfield is usually great. His opportunities in TV have been outstanding as well. Atlanta shows off a unique side of Stanfield which I enjoyed. So when I saw the trailer for The Changeling, I was intrigued to see him in a thriller that looked to skew into horror.
It’s a good thing Stanfield is great, because unfortunately, The Changeling just didn’t connect with me the way I hoped it would.
Based on the novel by Victor LaValle (who also served as the narrator and executive producer), The Changeling is about married couple, Apollo (Stanfield) and Emma (Clark Backo). We see their courtship through the ups and downs. While away on a trip, Emma encounters a mysterious woman who grants her three wishes. She returns to Apollo, gets married, and has the life they always dreamed of. When they have a child together, Emma starts to take a downward turn. After Emma and their baby disappear, Apollo must traverse through the strange underbelly of New York to find his family.
Stanfield is incredible in The Changeling. This entire show simply would not work if he wasn’t giving it his all. Apollo is a likable enough character. He has a traumatic backstory involving his father, and his mother had to do what she could to provide for him. I give Apollo credit for his persistence when it comes to asking Emma on a date in the first episode. They have a cute courtship, even if at times he can’t take a hint. While his interactions with everyone else are outstanding as well, his chemistry with Emma is fantastic, and he’s even better with the baby.
As much as I love Stanfield, though, Backo steals the show. The first two episodes depict Emma as a free-spirited woman who wants to travel the world and experience life to the fullest. She works in a library when Apollo starts to ask her on dates. Although she’s reluctant because of plans, sparks fly on their first date. Backo sells this well, by her body language more than anything. Her smile and her longer-than-usual looks towards Apollo show two people who have found their person.
But everything changes in the third episode. Backo’s performance flourishes the more troubled she becomes. She does an amazing job of capturing the struggle of being a new parent. Her range is outstanding, being happy one minute and then feeling deeply sad and frustrated the next. She lets these feelings of being overwhelmed consume her, and then she lashes out at Apollo and her son. Being a parent myself, this is terrifying to watch, but all too relatable.
From the technical side, The Changeling also excels. The music contributes to an eerie atmosphere. Dan Deacon does an outstanding job of composing music that sets a tense atmosphere and makes you feel doomed. At the end of Episode Two, when Emma gives birth, the music helps the audience feel the rush of becoming a parent. It’s both joyful and terrifying. Throughout Episode Three, the music shifts to sound more ominous.
The cinematography and lighting also deserve praise. Both show a much more fantasy-esque environment for New York. Combined with the special effects, they show the dangers of the city, and how sometimes the mind can play tricks on people, especially a new and tired parent.
Where The Changeling lost me is the story. The themes and parallels of parenthood sprinkled throughout the season kept me going for a while, but, the story just loses me after Emma and her son’s disappearance. Apollo’s grieving and searching for his family have some moments, but once he starts to investigate their disappearance more (from Episode Four onward), the show slows to a crawl in terms of pace. By the end of the season, I was no longer invested, and I struggled to finish it.
The Changeling really is a tale of two halves. The first is outstanding, with excellent performances and technical marvels of music and cinematography. But the story and pacing that accompany the second half just didn’t connect with me. Stanfield and Backo are outstanding, but even they can’t save this back half. It didn’t completely ruin my experience, but it contributed enough to not care if The Changeling gets renewed for Season Two.
Rating: It Was Just Okay
The Changeling is currently streaming on Apple TV+
You can read more from Mike Hilty, and follow him on Twitter, Letterboxd, and Serializd