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Changing Lanes 2002 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Roger Michell
R, 100 min. (language) |
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Starring: Ben Affleck, Samuel L. Jackson, Toni Collette, Amanda Peet, Sydney Pollock, William Hurt, Dylan Baker
Producers: Scott Rudin
Screenplay: Chap Taylor, Michael Tolkin
Cinematography: Salvatore Totino
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Released: 4.12.02 (Wide) |
Rating:
 (out of ) |
Changing Lanes is a surprising film, one that scathes at the notion of ordinary. On the surface, it looks like another
cat-and-mouse revenge flick, but at its heart, it's a brilliant study of two men, their anger, and self-contemplation that
leads to life-changing catharsis. Director Roger Michell (Persuasion, Notting Hill) has made good pictures before, but not at the depths
at which this film is crafted. This is a film for those who love thought-provoking, complicated stories with characters
that recognize their own shortcomings and react accordingly. It shows how far two people are willing to go in order to
avoid the disintegration of their personal and professional lives. It's only when they've exhausted their considerable will-power that
they save themselves from complete collapse. Changing Lanes throws these characters into the meat-grinder and
closely follows their every move. As one character remarks, "It's as if God threw two people in a paper bag and watched
them go at it."
One event, a car accident, forever changes the lives of two men, Gavin Banek (Ben Affleck) and Doyle Gipson (Samuel L. Jackson).
Gavin is a Wall Street lawyer, a partner in his father-in-laws million-dollar practice. He has a heart underneath the lying,
cheating schemes set forth by his firm, but it's only seen once a panic ensues. Doyle is a recovering alcoholic who has
recently bought a house in order to convince a divorce-court judge to allow his children to live with him. His wife has
threatened to move to Oregon with the kids, but Doyle's persistence that he's changed may be beginning to work - that is
until he comes into contact with Gavin.
The car accident occurs when the two are trying to exit a freeway at the same time, resulting in Doyle's car smashing into
a median. Both are in a hurry, but after exchanging okays, Gavin states that he must leave without providing the sufficient
paperwork. He leaves Doyle stranded without a ride, but does accidently leave behind a court document that he must have
at his imminent court hearing. Doyle, in disgust, has missed his own court date with the judge to plead his case for the
children, and takes the document as leverage. This isn't any ordinary document - it's the Power of Appointment in a critical
case for Gavin's firm, one in which without it, all the partners could do some jail time (the document was coerced from a
rich man's estate). Now, Doyle and Gavin will go to any lengths to hurt the other - Gavin to retrieve his document, Doyle
to inflict pain on Gavin for losing his court case.
The power of the film comes from each character's introspective look at their lives. Gavin sees what he has become when
confronted with the reality of his job - a loving wife (Amanda Peet) that is sent for by her father (Gavin's partner) for
damage control, fraudulent activity through his own coercion, defrauding a charity, forging a document, and bankrupting
Doyle - all in order to save his own skin. Doyle, whose alcoholism and subsequent AA meetings have nearly destroyed
him, is a loving father who'll do anything to see his children again. But his anger towards Gavin leads him to a series of
activities that could prove tragic for both of them. The film slyly provokes the viewer to wonder what would have happened
had the accident never occurred. Would things be better or worse? It's unclear.
The film's direction and screenplay are brilliant. Michell clearly wants to make his characters wiggle, and they do. Instead
of relying on various chase scenes or violence to resolve his story, Michell uses quiet conversations between his characters
to reveal their inner-workings. Take for instance the film's best scene between Gavin and his wife. His wife knows of
his infedelities with a colleague (Toni Collette), and what he's facing now, but she opens with, "Did you know
my father has been cheating on my mother for 20 years?" she asks Gavin. Gavin responds, "Well, I didn't know it was for
20 years." She continues, "but she thought it would be unethical to leave a man for cheating on his marriage, after she has
an enjoyed an expensive lifestyle that depends on a man who makes his money by cheating at work." She further states
that she could've married an honest man, but instead chose to live with a man who would go to the edge of morality to
make money. It's this interplay that reveal the genius of the script by Chap Taylor and Michael Tolkin.
Jackson and Affleck shine in their roles. Jackson has rarely played a bad role, and here his good-hearted Doyle is overcome
with the thought of losing his children. Though the help of his trusted AA friend (William Hurt) is welcomed, it's hardly
enough to compensate for the rage that Doyle feels for the injustice done to him. Affleck gives, in my mind, the best
performance of his career here as a driven but soft-hearted Gavin. His realization of mistake after mistake is encapsulated
in a scene between his mistress (Collette) and himself. He understands what he must do to rectify his misdeeds, but
ambition and self-preservation stand in the way. It's an impressive turn for Affleck.
If there is a weakness in Changing Lanes, it's in its conclusion. It seems there's actually two conclusions - the
first, and clearly the better of the two, seems to be the filmmakers choice. The second, and completely unnecessary
conclusion, has to be blamed on the long held Hollywood tradition of finishing on an upbeat note. In this case it seems like a farce
and is completely out of step with the rest of the picture. That minor complaint aside, Changing Lanes is a fascinating
film, complete with deep characters and intriguing questions, that makes it one of the year's best films to date. It's
a film that dares the audience to think, instead of pandering to the typical shoot-and-hide debacles that are a regularity
from Hollywood studios today. It's not to be missed.
© 2002 Jonathan Cornwell
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 |
 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
 | Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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