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CHANGING LANES ***1/2 out of *****
 Genres
2002
Directed by Roger Michell Written by Chap Taylor (story and screenplay) Michael Tolkin (screenplay) Cast Ben Affleck .... Gavin Banek Samuel L. Jackson .... Doyle Gipson Kim Staunton .... Valerie Gipson Toni Collette .... Michelle Sydney Pollack .... Stephen Delano Tina Sloan .... Mrs. Delano Richard Jenkins .... Walter Arnell Akil Walker .... Stephen Gipson Cole Hawkins .... Danny Gipson Ileen Getz .... Ellen Jennifer Dundas .... Mina Dunne Matt Malloy .... Ron Cabot Amanda Peet .... Cynthia Banek
 | "Why did you let Halle Berry teach
you to drive?" | I don't know about you but I'm sick of hearing about Ben Affleck, I'm sick of Pearl Harbour, I'm sick of Gigli, I'm sick of the whole Bennifer thing. There was a time when Ben was EVERYWHERE and it began to annoy me. This minor annoyance was probably why I didn't go and see Changing Lanes in the cinemas. But I made a mistake because after viewing this film on DVD I wished I had the chance to see it on the big screen because, in a word, this film is terrific.
 | You're supposed to memorise your
lines. | Ben Affleck stars as corporate attorney Gavin Banek, Samuel L. Jackson as recovering alcoholic Doyle Gipson, two men whose worlds cannot be further apart. Caught up in their own dramas these two men meet as a result of a fender bender on the FDR highway. Gavin leaves the scene of the accident in order to make his a court appearance to deliver important documents pertaining to a high profile case to the judge. However, he inadvertently leaves the file on the side of the road and is now in the hands of Doyle who was left stranded on the FDR highway. As a result Doyle misses his child custody court hearing and sole custody has been given to his wife who plans to move away from Doyle. After spending a good portion of his life trying to clean up his act and stop drinking Doyle was finally in a place where he and his family could start over again, but since he missed his hearing all that has gone down the toilet.
Gavin now has a dilemma, if he doesn't get the file back by the end of the day and present it to the judge, his job and career are in jeopardy, he may even face jail time. At a chance meeting with Doyle he tries to pay him off for the file, but all Doyle wants is his twenty minutes back so he can rebuild his relationship with his estranged wife and kids. It's at this point where the film begins to get very interesting, as it triggers a high-stakes game of cat and mouse. Gavin tries to force Doyle in giving him back the file by contracting the services of a hacker to break into Doyle's personal records and destroy his credit. In return Doyle threatens to destroy the file if his credit isn't restored. One turn begets another until someone is willing to stop and do the right thing.
 | Hurt is going to kill the cinemato-
grapher when he sees that shiny
dome. | This was a captivating film from start to finish, held together by some wonderful performances by the two leading men as well as an excellent supporting cast that includes Toni Collette, Sydney Pollack and Amanda Peet. Director Roger Michell has pieced together a fine drama made up of smart storytelling that really plays on the viewer’s loyalties between the two characters; these are all accentuated with solid cinematography and well-paced editing that keep you interested the whole way through. I would recommend this film to anyone.
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