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The
ad slogan for Changing Lanes is One Wrong Turn Deserves Another, and boy do the
characters make a lot of wrong turns, and we're not talking about getting lost
driving in Manhattan. This Roger Michell directed movie focuses on the lives of
two people from different parts of the socioeconomic ladder after they have a
chance car accident on the FDR in NYC. One man is the up-and-coming young lawyer Gavin Banek (Ben Affleck from Bounce), while the other is a recovering alcoholic insurance salesman Doyle Gibson (Samuel L. Jackson from Unbreakable) who is going through a custody battle with his wife. Both are on their way to court when Gavin tries to change lanes and get off of the freeway, but Doyle is already in that lane, and the cars crash into a center divider. Doyle wants to do everything by the book and exchange insurance info, but Gavin is late and wants to just get out of there and leaves Doyle with a blank check to cover the expenses of fixing his car (which is un-drivable) so he then speeds off to court despite Doyle's pleas for at least a ride so that he can get to his custody hearing. However, Gavin accidentally leaves a very important file at the scene, which Doyle picks up. Gavin makes his court appointment a little late, but is missing the file that the case will turn on and needs to get it back. On the other side of the story, Doyle gets to his hearing at the very end of the hearing and thus loses all custody to his two boys and the judge says that his wife can move to Oregon with the kids. So both now have serious issues. Most of the rest of the film consists of Gavin trying to get his file back through good and evil tactics, while Doyle tries to at points seek revenge upon the man who has basically ruined his life. Of course it actually isn't this simple as the two men learn that they each are responsible for most of their own problems as the two re-examine their lives and the choices they have made in their lives. This introspection makes each of them realize that they aren't happy with how things have turned out in their lives or in the day’s events, but that it's never too late to turn things around (had to use that pun). There
are other actors in this film, but the focus is always on either Affleck or
Jackson's character. In fact I don't think there is a single scene in the film
that doesn't have either of them in it. So in a way this Chap Taylor written
movie is a pair of character studies. Other people worth mentioning are Amanda
Peet (High Crimes) as Gavin's wife, Toni Collette,
Bradley Cooper, Sydney Pollack (Random Hearts),
Ileen Getz, William Hurt, Kevin Sussman, and Jennifer Dundas. Changing
Lanes is quite a bit different from most films lately, and I was never quite
sure how things would really end. Jackson puts in a great performance as the
seemingly always-angry father, and Affleck does well as the conflicted attorney.
And despite that everything takes place in just one day (which seems
impossible), we learn a lot about both characters. Adding all of this up leads
to a rating of nine couches for the About-Movies.com review.
Last updated: Thursday, March 20, 2008 02:48:40 AM Click Here to get back into frames.
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