Am I back?? I dunno. Have I the front?? Where do you side?
Am I back?? I dunno. Have I the front?? Where do you side?
Member since:14.08.2002
Reviews:150
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This has come as a surprise to theediscerning; several months after the film comes out and still there's not another anti-Changing Lanes op on either site. So finally he is going to make sure his is on both.
The film came out with a minor blaze of glory, as there was absolutely no pre-publicity (good reviews from the states, hour-long specials on BBC2 at night about the plot, and so on), and then completely disappeared when nobody went to see it. So for those who missed the miniblitz, or have plain forgotten, theediscerning shall summarise.
Ben Affleck is a posh-o lawyer, who is busily waking from doing nothing to get to court to argue about who has control of a lovely little American charity foundation that supports children in music.
Samuel L Jackson is his usual quiet self, but is much more troubled than Affleck. We start seeing him in a dingy AA meeting - and he's not trying to fix his car, at least not yet. He is an alcoholic, trying to stay clear of the booze, and winning so far, with the help of some small cameo scenes with William Hurt.
His troubles with the bottles have helped create his other problems - a wife who is trying to claim sole custody of their two children and move way out of where
his funds could allow him to visit. He has one last chance in a court room where he can, he hopes, convince the judge that his sobriety, and a new dump of a house he has an eye on, will show that he is on the right track.
And, of course, these two disparate pieces of humanity must meet, and of course they do, in a fender-bender on a ring road into the city.
Affleck is totally insular at this point, when he's not on the phone to his assistant, that is. And as a result he tries to buy Jackson off, and call it quits - he obviously hasn't got any insurance details on him for a start. After a bit of argy-bargy, with Jackson merely trying to get details for his claim, Affleck leaves him with some pithy verbal advice, and a long walk in what is now heavy rain.
AND he leaves him with one of the most important documents in the case he was rushing to, at the same courthouse - the one with the signature from the foundation's founder that claims he signed the running of it over in good will to the lawyers.
If anybody in this movie are baddies it is the judges (and Affleck's superiors, but that's supposed to be a surprise. Oops.), for both cases get dismissed. For the sake of that one document Affleck is given a reprieve for the rest of the day to find it to win his case, and plaudits (and a yacht) from his bosses. For the sake of being 20 minutes late Jackson gets thrown out of court. And then finds out that he has the folder that the man who just ruined his life (as if he hadn't had a head-start) wants back.
The rest is a sort of a revenge thriller, with Affleck using nefarious means to get Jackson to cave and surrender the file, and Jackson finding it far too easy to get his revenge when it's his turn - how the hell did he find in which basement Affleck parked his car???!!
There are some good scenes in the hour that ensues, but a lot that makes little sense, and merely serves as poor padding. Jackson (nearly) gets reintroduced to Mr J Daniels, and then suddenly decides some yuppies in the same bar are racist, so lashes out at them. But when he is controlling himself, and getting back at Affleck, who is merely making his life even worse, he shines - being taxied past Affleck, in one of the best scenes, about which theediscerning will say no more, and using a child courier, for example.
Affleck, meanwhile, is making his own life hell too, by lying to, then apologising to, his bosses, chief of which is his own father-in-law. Eventually he finds the signature for ownership of the charity was made under duress, and so turns criminal himself, to get into the truth. And all the time he's carrying on with his floozy assistant, who to our utter horror and surprise, is Toni Collette. My, how she's let herself go.
At the end, well, the folder can be handed back, but due to the easily noticeable nastiness of the chief lawyers, it's not even needed. And by some perverse way - I must have been asleep by this point - Jackson's life can look on the up too. And can there even be reconciliation between Affleck and the drunk loser? Probably, but you won't care.
Yes, it's as shallow and meaningless as that. Yet it's coming on at you like it's a David Fincher, or M Night Shyamalan, instead of some rookie director you probably won't hear of ever again. It starts with some lovely bumper-height views of the city streets, which have been nicked out of Taxi (the French thriller, not the naff sitcom), and then goes lower. Scenes are intercut at regular basis - we hear one lead males' conversation and see what the other is doing, for example. For the first couple of reels, at least, all the shots are from the most silly angles imaginable - through people's toes, hairdos, and so on, and the shots are cut very quickly together. Whoever made this film, and I care not to check, then decides to cut the show-reel nature of this piffle and tell a story, as slight as it is.
To be fair to the male leads, they both do the silent, insular, brooding walking bit down to a T. And that's about all they have to do, really.
There are quibbles with some of the plot, with at least two instances where it struck theediscerning that people said what they had no way of knowing. The lawyer's offices are completely risible, with pure glass walls (for confidentiality!?), and a grand total of two drawers of files, which handily contain all that is needed to continue the foundation fraud.
In summary, then, Changing Lanes is dressed as a thriller, it tries to be for some time, then turns to character-driven mush.
It's exhausting, and that's no spoiler.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Thriller - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Timothy West, Neil Morrissey, Tara Fitzgerald, Annette Crosbie, Pauline Quirke, Rob Brydon, Denise Van Outen, John Thomson, Kevin Whately, David Suchet
Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: Bharat Nalluri, Rob Bailey, Andy Wilson - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Jenny Agutter, Lisa Faulkner
Think I'll give this one a miss. Super review. Niki :)
plain_jane 13.12.2002 13:53
Ohh, that was as gorgeous as you are ;@) Peej x
ShoppingGirl 13.12.2002 12:21
ooh, I love a good 'anti' op! personally i can't stand ben Affleck - and I reckon Samuel L is just about the biggest whore in Hollywood! Is there any script this man will turn down?! What are you fancying on the telly over Christmas? Cheers, Kaz
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Advantages: A rock-solid story line, promises to keep you fascinated / interested throughout Disadvantages: Morality versus Immorality, both chucked in but neither wins?
Whizzdom 13.11.2007 (13.11.2007)
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Review of Changing Lanes (DVD)
![Changing Lanes [DVD] [2002]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78523165.jpg "Changing Lanes [DVD] [2002]")
Dec 13th, 2002
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