"Changing Lanes" is a pretty good movie..for three quarters of its running time that is.
The story centers on two men living very different life styles who through a quirk of fate, meet as the result of a traffic accident. Both it turns out, are headed to the court house for different reasons.
Ben Affleck plays an arrogant self-centered Wall Street lawyer named Gavin Banek. He is going to court to represent his firm's takeover of child's trust fund. Samuel L. Jackson on the other hand plays Doyle Gipson who is headed to court for a custody battle with his wife (Kim Stauton) over their children. The accident changes both men's lives forever.
Banek leaves Gipson stranded on the freeway but doesn't notice that he has dropped a file with information crucial to his case. Gipson arrives late for his court date after the judge has awarded custody of the children to his wife. Banek is given the rest of the day to produce the missing file in court and Gipson is distraught over the loss of his children.
Banek, in an effort to force Gipson to turn over the file with the help of a colleague and former lover (Toni Collette - having a REAL BAD hair day), hires a computer hacker to effectively bankrupt Gipson and destroy his credit. Gipson on the other hand, tries to cause Banek to have a serious traffic accident to exact his revenge. Banek has to explain all of this to his boss and father-in-law Stephen Delano (Sydney Pollack) who arranges "to fix things". Gipson now finds he is bankrupt and cannot get the loan that was approved so that he could buy a house in order to keep his children in New York.
The film is fine to this point. In the last quarter everyone suddenly comes to their collective senses and Director Roger Michell takes us through yet another "lives happily ever after" Hollywood ending. It's kind of a let down after seeing the cat and mouse games between the two main characters.
The movie leaves us wondering about a lot of unfinished business. Consider the following: 1. Where were the cops at the scene of the accident? 2. On a crowded roadway, surely there would have been a few witnesses. 3. What happened to the "leaving the scene of the accident charge? 4. Why wasn't Gipson charged with attempted murder for tampering with Banek's car? And again, where were the cops? 5. Did Gipson ever regain solvency? 6. What happened to Banek's marriage? 7. Did Toni Collette find a new hairdresser?
The story centers on two men living very different life styles who through a quirk of fate, meet as the result of a traffic accident. Both it turns out, are headed to the court house for different reasons.
Ben Affleck plays an arrogant self-centered Wall Street lawyer named Gavin Banek. He is going to court to represent his firm's takeover of child's trust fund. Samuel L. Jackson on the other hand plays Doyle Gipson who is headed to court for a custody battle with his wife (Kim Stauton) over their children. The accident changes both men's lives forever.
Banek leaves Gipson stranded on the freeway but doesn't notice that he has dropped a file with information crucial to his case. Gipson arrives late for his court date after the judge has awarded custody of the children to his wife. Banek is given the rest of the day to produce the missing file in court and Gipson is distraught over the loss of his children.
Banek, in an effort to force Gipson to turn over the file with the help of a colleague and former lover (Toni Collette - having a REAL BAD hair day), hires a computer hacker to effectively bankrupt Gipson and destroy his credit. Gipson on the other hand, tries to cause Banek to have a serious traffic accident to exact his revenge. Banek has to explain all of this to his boss and father-in-law Stephen Delano (Sydney Pollack) who arranges "to fix things". Gipson now finds he is bankrupt and cannot get the loan that was approved so that he could buy a house in order to keep his children in New York.
The film is fine to this point. In the last quarter everyone suddenly comes to their collective senses and Director Roger Michell takes us through yet another "lives happily ever after" Hollywood ending. It's kind of a let down after seeing the cat and mouse games between the two main characters.
The movie leaves us wondering about a lot of unfinished business. Consider the following: 1. Where were the cops at the scene of the accident? 2. On a crowded roadway, surely there would have been a few witnesses. 3. What happened to the "leaving the scene of the accident charge? 4. Why wasn't Gipson charged with attempted murder for tampering with Banek's car? And again, where were the cops? 5. Did Gipson ever regain solvency? 6. What happened to Banek's marriage? 7. Did Toni Collette find a new hairdresser?