Changing Lanes Review
by Aleksandar Zambelli (IHATESPAMzambelli AT posluh DOT hr)April 18th, 2002
Movie Review:
"Changing Lanes"
Copyright (c) 2002 Aleksandar Zambelli
Originally published in The Crimson, a Florida Tech student-run
publication.
Directed by Roger Michell
Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Affleck and Sydney Pollack
Genre: drama / thriller
The events of "Changing Lanes" take place in New York City over the course of a single day. Two men, one a yuppie lawyer, the other a divorced former alcoholic, are both on their way to court, but on the FDR Drive they get into a car accident. Doyle Gibson's (Samuel L. Jackson - "Pulp Fiction," "Unbreakable") car is completely wrecked, so he attempts to exchange insurance information with Gavin Banek (Ben Affleck - "Good Will Hunting," "Chasing Amy"). Banek is in a hurry, so when Gibson refuses to take his blank check (!), Banek gets in the car and leaves the scene of the accident, remarking "Better luck next time!" However, in his rush, Banek leaves behind a vital folder. The folder contains a document that is supposed to turn over the ownership of an old millionaire's foundation to Banek's law firm. Gibson arrives to court twenty minutes too late to defend a request for joint custody over his kids. Banek, in turn, realizes that he left the important folder with Gibson and attempts to get it back before his boss and father-in-law (Sidney Pollack - "Eyes Wide Shut") finds out. Gibson, frustrated by the morning's events, refuses to hand back the folder and so begins a daylong series of struggles between the two men determined to settle the score.
It's always a pleasant surprise when a seemingly typical movie breaks out of its mold and bravely explores new territory rather than trekking the beaten path. "Changing Lanes" could've easily been a typical "vendetta" action flick. Its two main characters could've spent 120 minutes mindlessly exchanging low blows and getting each other in trouble, with the apparent good guy, Samuel L. Jackson, teaching Ben Affleck a lesson about being polite to other people. Fortunately for the viewer, this doesn't happen. Things are not what they seem in "Changing Lanes" and that is the movie's greatest quality - the ability to surprise the viewer and show a little unexpected depth.
For a start, there is no black and white in "Changing Lanes" - only shades of gray. Samuel L. Jackson's character Doyle Gibson isn't the good man and caring father that he presents himself to be. We find out early in the movie that alcoholism isn't his only problem. Gibson has problems controlling his emotions. He gets into a completely unnecessary fight with two strangers in a bar, and he trashes a bank clerk's office although he knows very well why his credit history has disappeared. Near the end of the movie, his friend and AA sponsor (William Hurt - "A.I.," "Lost in Space") tells him, "You're addicted to chaos." Ben Affleck's character, Gavin Banek, isn't the bad guy we'd want him to be either. We find out that he was naively unaware of the illegality of some of his law firm's actions and simply used by his boss as a puppet. He shows remorse after getting into the car accident with Gibson, but he is misguided in his moral judgments.
"Changing Lanes" is a movie about making bad judgments in a world that's not perfect. It scratches far beneath the surface and explores moral, ethical and legal issues that its characters face. At the end of the movie, characters are revealed for who they really are. Although Chap Taylor and Michael Tolkin's screenplay tends to preach occasionally, it leaves enough room for healthy debate. Occasionally it takes breaks in order to deliver somewhat contrived soliloquies, but I can't blame it - the writers have things to say that are worth hearing, so why not?
The film's only downside which distressed me very much was its unnecessary happy ending. In a movie which tries so hard to present things as they really are, a happy ending seems forced and unnatural. The entire point of the movie is that both characters make bad decisions and should suffer the consequences of their own actions. The sappy ending of "Changing Lanes" diminishes the overall quality of the movie considerably, which is a shame. Nonetheless, it's a movie that stands out high above its competition and that ought to be seen before some movie theater manager decides it is not generating enough revenue and yanks it out of the movie theater.
Score: 8/10
--
======================================
WWW: http://fit.edu/~azambell
ICQ: 7003861
AIM: AlexPython
======================================
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
