Themes: Out For Revenge, Crisis of Conscience, Work Ethics
Main Cast: Ben Affleck, Samuel L. Jackson, Toni Collette, Sydney Pollack, William Hurt
Release Year: 2002
Country: US
Run Time: 98 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Director Roger Michell follows up the hit romantic comedy Notting Hill (1999) with this thought-provoking thriller. Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson star, respectively, as Gavin Banek and Doyle Gibson, two New York men whose lives become accidentally intertwined in a Good Friday fender bender on the FDR Drive. Late for a crucial appointment, hotshot lawyer Gavin tosses Doyle a blank check and leaves the scene, while Doyle, whose car is inoperable, is late for a court-appointed custody hearing. A recovering alcoholic, Doyle's tardiness doesn't sit well with the judge, who - sick of waiting for Gipson - grants custody to Doyle's ex-wife in Doyle's absence. The situation worsens when it becomes evident that Doyle has an equally important file belonging to Gavin, which proves that an elderly man gave Banek's firm power-of-attorney over his foundation. So begins an escalating war of words and deeds between the two men. Soon, egged on by an associate (Toni Collette), Gavin hires a "fixer" (Dylan Baker) to destroy Doyle's credit, forcing Doyle to fire back with some cunning moves of his own. Changing Lanes co-stars William Hurt, Sydney Pollack, and Toni Collette. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Review
A pleasingly taut, surprisingly trenchant morality play disguised as an urban thriller, this sleeper hit stays smartly focused on the emotional reality of its premise without devolving into the violent, chaotic genre clichés typically found in lesser films dealing with themes of rage and revenge. Rather than delighting in the mechanics of one-upmanship, screenwriters Chap Taylor and Michael Tolkin head for different, more disturbing intellectual territory, punctuating their script with arch, cynical monologues that lay bare commonly accepted justifications for inexcusably heinous behavior and exploring in painful detail the high cost of vengeance, depicting it as an inherently selfish fire that must blowback to immolate he who strikes the match. Both Ben Affleck, in what is easily the best performance in a career of spotty quality, and Samuel L. Jackson, typically simmering with fierce intelligence and coiled menace, zealously dig into their respective roles, each becoming a mirror held up to the other and reflecting back an ugly image neither wants to see. These are tough, complex, and very real humans with feet of clay and lacking utterly in glamour or heroism. As in many great works of drama, the characters here are ultimately not confronted with each other but with themselves, and the actors rise gloriously to the occasion. One of the year's boldest, timeliest films, Changing Lanes aspires to encourage introspection, and there aren't many loftier goals for mass entertainment than that. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Amanda Peet - Cynthia Banek; Kim Staunton - Valerie Gipson; Richard Jenkins - Walter Arnell; John Benjamin Hickey - Carlyle; Jennifer Dundas Lowe - Mina Dunne; Dylan Baker - Finch; Matt Malloy - Ron Cabot; Bruce Altman - Joe Kaufman; Angel Caban - security guard ar school; Angela Goethals - Sarah Windsor; Joe Grifasi - Judge Cosell; Neal Jones - newsroom writer; Olga Merediz - Mrs Miller; Leonard Thomas - newsroom reporter; Raymond Anthony Thomas - Cop at Precint; Susan Varon - Buckburg, Sheryl; James Lovelett - security guard at school; Julia Gibson - receptionist as AD & S; Pamela Hart - newscaster; Michael Pitt - music teacher/conductor; Bradley Cooper - Gordon Pinella; Tina Sloan - Mrs Delano; Juanma Lara - orchestra children; Myra Lucretia-Taylor - Judge Abarbanel; Ileen Getz - Ellen; Jayne Houdyshell - Miss Tetley; Susan Blackwell - newsroom producer; Noel Wilson - bartender at Arlo's; Ray Boknour - Willard; Jordan Gelber - priest; Gilbert Williams - Mike; Lisa Leguillou - Gina Gugliotta; Akil Walker - Stephen Gipson; Cole Hwakins - Danny Gipson; Tyler Sussman - Tyler Cohen; Michael Patrick McGrath - Seavers; Suzanne Hevner - Delanos secretary; Caleb Archer - kid on bike; Shabazz Richardson - cops at precinct; Genevieve Elam - waitress; Anastasia Rojas - orchestra children; Nicole Wright - orchestra children; Clive Oliver Greenberg - orchestra children; Sophia Guaspari - orchestra member; Ruben J. Seraballs - orchestra member; Father Bonneau - himslef; Jewel Brimage - teacher; Katariina Kiamma - teacher; Vanessa Quel - Kate; Howard I. Laniado - Barry; Tony Machine - office worker; Carolyn Feldschuh - office worker; Maria Alaina Mason - office worker; Harvey Waldman - author in newsroom; Alyson Renaldo - newsroom executive producer; James Soviero - newsrom associate producer; Mary Kelly - newsroom script supervisor; Anthony DiGiacomo - newsroom associate director; Richard Velasco - newsroom director; Selena Blake - insurance broker; Harriet Rosenthal - family court; John Kohl - family court; Lisa Vogel - family court; Bob Heffernan - Simon Dunne; Richard Kelly - AA group leader
Credit
James C. Feng - Art Director, Steven W. Graham - Art Director, Sarah Frank - Art Director, Marcia de Bonis - Casting, Ellen Lewis - Casting, Brune Winant - Casting, Sonny Kompanek - Conductor, Nicolas Dodd - Conductor, Scott Aversano - Co-producer, Ann Roth - Costume Designer, Michael Steel - First Assistant Director, Anthony Hemingway - First Assistant Director, Timothy Donohue - First Assistant Director, Anthony Kawakami - First Assistant Director, Tara Nicole Weyr - First Assistant Director, Roger Michell - Director, Harry Peck Bolles - Editor, Christopher Tellefsen - Editor, Jane McCulley - Editor, Ron Bozman - Executive Producer, Adam Schroeder - Executive Producer, Werner Sherer - Hair Styles, Milton Buras - Hair Styles, Maria Bierniak - Location Manager, David Arnold - Composer (Music Score), Linda Grimes - Makeup, Margie Durand - Makeup, Chris Norr - Camera Operator, Bruce MacCallum - Camera Operator, Kristi Zea - Production Designer, David M. Dunlap - Cinematographer, Salvatore Totino - Cinematographer, Ron Bozman - Production Manager, Harvey Waldman - Production Manager, Scott Rudin - Producer, Debra Schutt - Set Designer, Peter Kunz - Special Effects, Danny Michael - Sound Mixer, Ryan Collinson - Sound Mixer, Warren Shaw - Sound/Sound Designer, Stuart Stanley - Sound Special Effects, Jeffrey Stern - Sound Special Effects, Jery Hewitt - Stunts Coordinator, Doug Coleman - Stunts Coordinator, Chap Taylor - Screen Story, Michael Tolkin - Screenwriter, Chap Taylor - Screenwriter, Ken Bates - Additional Cinematography, Reid Burns - Visual Effects Supervisor, Noah Vivekanand Timan - Sound Effects Editor, Paul Soucek - Sound Effects Editor, Jacob Ribicoff - Sound Effects Editor, Tony Martinez - Sound Effects Editor, William Sweeney - Supervising Editor, Gina R. Alfano - Supervising Editor, Andrew Glen - Music Editor, Dashiell Rae - Music Editor, Dina Eaton - Music Editor, Shari I. Johanson - Music Editor, Michael Alden - Post Production Supervisor, Lori Machens - Post Production Supervisor, Anne Nevin - Production Coordinator, Roberto Fernandez - Re-Recording Mixer, Harry Higgins - Re-Recording Mixer, Lee Ditcher - Re-Recording Mixer, Terry Laubermilch - Re-Recording Mixer, Robert Olari - Re-Recording Mixer, Catherine Gore - Script Supervisor, Mary Kelly - Script Supervisor, J.C. Brotherhood - Special Effects Coordinator, William Shackleton Arnot - Steadicam Operator, Warren Shaw - Supervising Sound Editor, David Boulton - ADR Mixer, Matthew C. Beville - ADR Mixer, Peter Gleaves - ADR Mixer, Bob Baron - ADR Mixer, Barrett Hong - Costumes Supervisor, Donna Maloney - Costumes Supervisor, Jac Rubenstein - Dialogue Editor, Brian Vancho - Foley Artist, Tony Trotta - Scenic Artist, Brick Mason - Storyboard Artist, Al Cerullo - Pilot
A successful New Yorkattorney, Gavin Banek, is in a rush to file a power of appointment, which will prove a dead man signed his foundation over to Banek's law firm. He has a collision with another car, belonging to an insurance salesman, Doyle Gipson, who is also in a rush to a hearing to try to gain custody of his children and to prevent his estranged wife from taking them to Oregon. Banek tries to brush Gipson off with a blank check thereby disobeying the law. After Gipson refuses to accept the check and voices his desire to "do the right thing", that is, filing a police report and insurance claim, Banek strands Gipson, telling him, "better luck next time." After arriving to the court late, Gipson learns that it proceeded without him and that it didn't go in his favor.
Unfortunately for Banek, he dropped the crucial power of appointment file at the scene of the accident, and the judge gives him until the end of the day to re-obtain the papers and present them. Gipson, who took the papers, has no intention of returning them, and in desperation, Banek goes to someone skilled with computers and gets him to switch off Gipson's credit. Gipson needed credit for a loan so he could buy a house for his family, and he becomes further enraged, determined to make life difficult for Banek.
Both men continue to do questionable things in an attempt to one-up each other, and eventually they begin to question their actions. Though it is made clear that Banek and Gipson are radically different, they both have an angry, vengeful streak, capable of abandoning their morals just to punish the other. The film ends with both men having a new outlook on life, concentrating on ethics and the moral implications of their actions.
The movie was a box-office success; with a budget of $45,000,000, it grossed $66,818,548 in the United States and $28,117,216 elsewhere, with a total gross of $94,935,764.
