Changing Lanes (2002)

Los Angeles Times
"...Adeptly written....CHANGING LANES is especially good at bringing an urban nightmare to the screen..." 04/12/2002 p.C1

Box Office
"...Jackson's performance provides the heart of the story. Illuminating the idea that things are sometimes not what they seem, Jackson shows us a doting father and persistent husband..." 06/01/2002 p.67

Chicago Sun-Times
"...Excitingly alive....This is one of the best movies of the year..." 04/12/2002 p.25

Total Film
"...CHANGING LANES is actually an intense, intelligent and gripping moral drama..." 12/01/2002 p.106

The Phantom Tollbooth 8 of 10
The acting in Changing Lanes is fantastic across the board. It's certainly one of Jackson's best performances since Pulp Fiction, as his downtrodden father struggling with his demons is extraordinary. Surprisingly, Affleck matches him step for step. While the hot-shot lawyer with a crisis of conscience isn't as difficult a role, Affleck is believable and compelling. His second scene with Jackson--in which he apologies so that he can get the file back--is exactly right. - J. Robert Parks
 
Totronto Sun 7 of 10
Changing Lanes is that rarity among Hollywood thrillers--a completely plausible and logical story, extremely well told. Except for minor lapses, it is easy to plunk yourself down inside the skin of one or even both of the protagonists played so convincingly by Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson. Identify with them, get emotionally involved, and you're hooked. Changing Lanes becomes a fluid exercise in spiraling tension, character development and insights into the beast that lurks in every human's soul and gives this story its moral fibre. - Bruce Kirkland
 
ReelViews 8 of 10
At first glance, Changing Lanes might easily be mistaken for a thriller. Certainly, the previews make it look like one, and there's no denying that a few of the trappings of the genre are present. But there are no shootings, no car chases, and no explosions. Traditional "action" moments are few and far between, and instances of violence are even more scarce. Changing Lanes doesn't get the adrenaline pumping - but that's not a bad thing, because that isn't its goal. This is a character-centered movie - a film that makes a bold statement about societal pressures and the human condition, and how external influences can cause an otherwise decent human being to do things that are despicable. Those who go to Changing Lanes expecting to see a revenge thriller will probably be moderately entertained; those who look for more will find that there are greater rewards to be had...Seen from a neutral perspective, aspects of Changing Lanes may come across as contrived and riddled with logical holes. From an internal perspective, however, there's a sort of consistency. The ending is curious. It's as if the filmmakers didn't trust the initial conclusion, so they tacked on a second, more upbeat one. Regardless of whether this is the result of test audience reactions or just a decision made by the director and screenwriters, it doesn't work...Changing Lanes represents something of a change-of-pace for director Roger Michell, whose resume boasts such titles as Persuasion and Notting Hill. Michell's instincts for characters and relationships serve him well in this forum, however. While a slick action filmmaker like Jan de Bont might have crafted this into a high-wire game of chicken, Michell concentrates on the human aspect. The result is that, while Changing Lanes isn't a perfect movie, it's watchable and compelling, and works on more than one level. - James Berardinelli
 
Chicago Sun-Times 10 of 10
"One wrong turn deserves another," say the ads for "Changing Lanes." Yes, both of the movie's dueling hotheads are in the wrong--but they are also both in the right. The story involves two flawed men, both prey to anger, who get involved in a fender-bender that brings out all of their worst qualities. And their best. This is not a dumb formula film about revenge. It doesn't use rubber-stamp lines like "it's payback time"...The story begins with two men who need to be in court on time. A lawyer, Gavin Banek (Ben Affleck), needs to file a signed form proving that an elderly millionaire turned over control of his foundation to Banek's law firm. Doyle Gipson (Samuel L. Jackson) needs to show that he has loan approval to buy a house for his family; he hopes that will convince his fed-up wife to stay in New York and not move with the kids to Oregon. Banek and Gipson get into a fender bender. It's not really anybody's fault..."Changing Lanes" is a thoughtful film that by its very existence shames studio movies that have been dumbed down into cat-and-mouse cartoons. The screenplay is by Chap Taylor, who has previously worked as a production assistant for Woody Allen, and by Michael Tolkin, who wrote the novel and screenplay "The Player" and wrote and directed two extraordinary films, "The Rapture" and "The New Age." The writers, rookie and veteran, want to know who these men are, how they got to this day in their lives, what their values are, what kinds of worlds they live in. A dumb film would be about settling scores after the fender bender. This film, which breathes, which challenges, which is excitingly alive, wants to see these men hit their emotional bottoms...The director, Roger Michell, has made good movies including "Persuasion" and "Notting Hill," but this one seems more like Neil LaBute's "In the Company of Men," or Tolkin's work...This is one of the best movies of the year. - Roger Ebert