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In Changing Lanes, Ben Affleck and Samuel L Jackson play New Yorkers who are involved in a car crash as they hurry to appointments in court. Both men have reason to be tense - Affleck is a wealthy corporate lawyer who suspects his firm is using him to defraud a charity while Jackson is a working class father and recovering alcoholic who is trying to prevent his wife taking his kids to another state. No one is hurt in the accident but Jackson's car is wrecked and, when Affleck refuses to give him a lift, Jackson arrives late at his hearing to find his wife has been granted permission to move. Meanwhile Affleck discovers that he's left a crucial file, without which he looks guilty of massive fraud, in the possession of the furious Jackson.
What follows is an day-long battle in which Affleck's Wall Street connections and shark-like callousness are pitted against Jackson's street-smarts and mercurial temper. What makes all this interesting is that both men are aware of their flaws, wish to rise above them and don't feel good about what they're doing but instead each becomes the focus for the other's frustrations and so the situation escalates out of control.
This is a smarter than average movie with two very good performances by Affleck and Jackson, who are both guilty of taking the money and coasting in other films but who prove here what impressive actors they can be. There's also strong support from the likes of Amanda Peet, Toni Collette and (Tootsie director) Sydney Pollack who is superb as a jaded lawyer who could probably talk his way out of eternal damnation. British director Roger Michell does much better work here than he did on Notting Hill, particularly with the cast.
Working against the film is a certain remoteness that comes from having no especially sympathetic characters and also there's the shadow of Tin Men, Barry Levinson's terrific 1987 film which was about a feud between two aluminium salesmen which also started with a collision and told the same story as effectively but more entertainingly. Changing Lanes is more a film you admire than one you enjoy watching.



I dont agree. I thought it was great. A modern re-working of a classic tale.
Money, power and what you want can destroy a man.



I didn't think that much of it. I read a review saying it was better than Falling Down (its not) but in truth I was hoping to see 28 Days Later that night but my fiancée had different ideas..
I just didn't get into it, didn't enjoy it. Its was initially interesting in that there were no black and white good guy bad guy scenarios for once (both Affleck and Jacksons characters were highly flawed people) but apart from that I just didn't think it kept up the momentum promised in the first hour, and with a weak and obviously screen test friendly ending I couldn't give it any more than 5/10.
My fiancée would probaly give it 8/10 though, she liked it.



I thought it was very good, but my two mates I went to see it hated it. I guess it's a film which you either love or hate.



I thought that it was pretty good - but then I watched it on a plane between Australia and England back in July, and I was desperately bored at the time.



I enjoyed it, thought Affleck gave a good performace!



Originally posted by Goblin
I enjoyed it, thought Affleck gave a good performace!
He does play the spoilt self-centred w@nker very well.
Samuel L Jackson was pretty good I thought.



Bored me to tears unfortunately.



Average film with a GOD AWFUL bloody ending