Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8075 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-06-02
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Turkish
• Dubbed in: Czech, German
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 95 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Changing Lanes finds director Roger Michell (Notting Hill) going American but not Hollywood, working from a script written by Michael Tolkin (The Player) and newcomer Chip Taylor. The result is something like Falling Down squared.

It all starts with a car collision in New York. An alcoholic insurance salesman Doyle Gipson (Samuel L Jackson), hurrying for a vital hearing at which he might lose access to his kids, is entangled with yuppie lawyer Gavin Banek (Ben Affleck), himself speeding to a court hearing at which he must present an important document to secure his firm's custodianship of a 100 million dollar foundation. Doyle wants to handle things by the book and spurns Gavin's offer of a blank cheque, which prompts the lawyer to drive off, leaving Doyle in the rain and doomed not to make the court in time, though he leaves behind the crucial document.

Over the course of the day, things escalate as Gavin tries to get the file back and an embittered Doyle refuses. In a game of deadly tit-for-tat, Gavin hires a hacker to wipe out Doyle's financial records, while Doyle resorts to sabotaging Gavin's car.

The script is carefully balanced: assuming our natural sympathy for the put-upon Jackson as opposed to the smooth Affleck, we are carefully shown that the picture is not that simple--Jackson wouldn't be in a custody hearing if this was the first time his life ran out of control, while the whole crisis forces Affleck (whose unethical bosses want him to forge the document) to reassess his fast-track life. It's fable-like rather than credible, but the suspense ratchets ever higher and there are some fine speeches well delivered by the stars. --Kim Newman

Special Features
* Commentary by Director Roger Michell

* The Making of Changing Lanes (15 mins)

* Deleted and extended scenes (10 mins)

* A Writer's Perspective Featurette (7 mins)

* Theatrical Trailer(s)

Synopsis
Two cars collide on the FDR expressway. Their drivers--two seemingly opposite men--are Gavin Banek (Ben Affleck), a young white partner in a powerful law firm, and Doyle Gipson (Samuel L. Jackson), a meek working class black man. At the scene of this fender bender Gavin, who is busy trying to make a business appointment on his cell phone, offers Doyle a blank check to cover damages. Doyle, wanting to properly exchange information, declines, causing Gavin to flee the accident site. In his haste, Gavin leaves behind an important legal file that Doyle uses to his advantage, setting off a brutal cycle of revenge between these two men who began this Good Friday as strangers.
A class commentary that is decidedly different from director Roger Michell's previous film, NOTTING HILL, CHANGING LANES provides very little information about its two central characters before the moment of their car accident. Michell introduces them by crosscutting between both men speaking publicly--Gavin is lecturing to a charitable foundation, Doyle is talking at an AA meeting. These techniques of crosscutting and mirror imaging are used effectively throughout the film to underscore that the obvious social and economic differences between the two men doesn't disguise the dark and angry nature that exists in both of these men, and potentially in all of humanity.

Customer Reviews

Many wrongs never make right
This is a movie with no heroes, no nudity, no CGI and practically no fancy stunts, yet somehow it manages to hold your interest.

After feeling genuine hatred for the two lead characters, more so for Banek (Affleck) than Gipson (Jackson), I found that the ending wrapped up too quickly, too conveniently and too smoothly, and while it was reasonably watchable the first time, I probably wouldn't want to see it a second time.

Both Affleck and Jackson play their parts convincingly, and make it almost believable that a fender bender could lead to such chaos. In the real world however, Banek should have wised up to his work situation from the beginning, and Gipson would have certainly fallen off the wagon. Personally, I could never be charitable to a man who purposely sets out to destroy my family's chance for happiness, or lies about my kids safety, which makes the somewhat neat ending leave a bad taste in my mouth.

The bankruptcy story thread was unconvincing. The highly paid professional just accepting his failure with a shrug off is just not realistic. There are other parts of the movie where the lead characters cause significant damage to office property without repercussions, and some of the support actors tenuously cling to the storyline like afterthoughts.

Considering that this movie is about greed, arrogance, despair, revenge, deceit and blackmail, it does very well to maintain a reasonable entertainment value. The "positive message" comes too late to be of significant redeeming value.

Jackson's performance carries the movie as far as it can go.

A thoughtful film about two guys not thinking straight
Any thoughts that "Changing Lanes" would be a predictable film should have gone out the window as soon as you saw Samuel L. Jackson was involved. The story is about two men who do not have time for a freeway fender bender. Gavin Banek (Ben Affleck) is a lawyer who has some important papers to file to prove an ailing millionaire signed over control of his foundation to Banek's law firm. Doyle Gipson (Jackson), also has to get to court so he can show he got approved for a loan to buy a house so that his wife will not move with his two sons to Oregon. The accident itself is really nobody's fault, but everything that happens after words in this escalating war of words and deeds can be laid at the feet of Gavin and Doyle, who dive off into the deep end.

The movie ads proclaimed "One wrong turn deserves another," and it helps set the audience up for the carnage these two reap on each other's lives as their frustrations give way to anger. They have good reason to be frustrated: Doyle gets to court too late and his last chance to keep his family together is gone; Gavin arrives at court only to discover he has left the most important document behind. It turns out that this document is so important that not having it can put him and the bosses at his firm, including his father-in-law, in prison. These are two men whose lives have come to major crossroads. This is news to Gavin, but the impact is not less than it is on Doyle.

The trailer for "Changing Lanes" emphasizes the horrible things these two men manage to do to each other during the course of what is clearly the worst days of their lives. Gavin uses a computer wizard to destroy Doyle's credit rating. Doyle loosen the bolts on the wheel of Gavin's car. If somebody does not end up dead by the end of this film, then we are all going to be very much surprised. But that is what makes this film worth watching is that it is surprising, as when Gavin and Doyle both discover the true value of the lives they have been trying to lead are found in the women they have married (Amanda Peet and Kim Stauton respectively).

Ultimately, it is the ability of the script by Chap Taylor and Michael Tolkin to surprises us and lifts "Changing Lanes" above the standard Hollywood tale of urban violence. These two men could be cartoonish figures, but they become fully developed characters; not because of what they do to each other, but because of what they articulate about their lives in talking to others. Gavin confesses to his former mistress (Toni Collette) while Doyle bare his soul to his AA sponsor (William Hurt). In their initial conversation after the accident Gavin and Doyle are too worried about where they should be to have a civil conversation. Their next words are insults that they shout (and fax). But the film holds the promise that once these two men hit rock bottom that they might final turn on one another and talk.

**** COLLISSION COURSE ****
Changing Lanes, directed by Roger Michell (Notting Hill), is an urban morality tale that centres around a road rage conflict that escalates out of control following a fender bender between an obnoxious yuppie lawyer (Ben Affleck) and a recovering alcoholic (Samuel L Jackson) desperately trying to rebuild his family life. From what should have been an easily resolved accident their row escalates into an obsessive conflict in which the ante is continually upped as they set about bringing misery and revenge to each others lives.

Despite the mixed reviews I found this to be a very intelligent and well-acted movie. Unlike most mainstream Hollywood movies it has both a point and some meaning. It offers a very insightful snapshot of the dog eat dog world that we currently co-exist in, where people are in constant competition with each other and (selfishly) no longer show any thought, courtesy, compassion or consideration for each other. In many ways Changing Lanes is an Indie movie in Hollywood clothing. However, it boasts two strong male leads in Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson, who both portray their opposing characters with depth, range and subtlety. In particular, it is refreshing to see Ben Affleck in something more substantial. The poor guy has taken such a fearful battering from critics since the ill-conceived Pearl Harbour but despite this he has made something of a comeback this year with both Changing Lanes and The Sum of All Fears. Like it or not, Ben Affleck IS a big star with a bright future. Samuel L Jackson, once again shows what a very versatile actor he is. He can be cool, he can be powerful, he can dominate the screen or as he does in this movie he can show a range of depth and subtlety beyond the vast majority of other actors. However, it is Toni Collette (Muriels Wedding, The Sixth Sense, About A Boy etc.) and legendary film producer/Director Sydney Pollack (in a rare acting appearance) that, to my mind, are the stars of this particular show in their respective supporting roles as Affleck's ex-mistress/confidante and boss/father in law. Pollack in particular gives a powerful performance as a charming father figure who switches at the drop of the hat to be a ruthless and vindictive morally corrupt businessman.

If there is a downside to this movie, it's the ending. If this was truly an Independent movie and not a Paramount produced project, then it surely would have had an ending more befitting reality and more befitting the tone of the film, with no redemption for anybody. Instead however, what we get is ultimately a cop-out (Hollywood) and they all lived happily ever after ending. Despite that though, given the worthiness of this tale and the top-notch acting performances from a fine cast, I still think its worth a go and worthy of 3.5 stars. : )