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Changing Lanes (2002)

Rate: 6
Viewed: 1/08

ChangingL
1/08: Changing Lanes is a rocky roller-coaster ride that can be sometimes good and sometimes bad.

As for the rating, I went from '7' to '5' and then up to '8' which nosedived to '4' before finally settling for '6'. It's not that I didn't like it, but rather, I was overwhelmed with everything that had occurred. In short, it's been over the top.

The acting isn't bad. At one point, I was at the verge of saying, "My dear Ben, you cannot act," before stopping myself short because I think Ben Affleck did all right in a sleazy way. His co-star Samuel L. Jackson is fine as usual. Having William Hurt on board to make a cameo appearance is a nice touch. Toni Collette of The Sixth Sense and Shaft looks like she has bone marrow cancer.

But Changing Lanes is story-driven. There are a couple of moments that are illogical. One particular scene when Gavin Banek pulled the fire alarm, resulting in activation of the sprinklers, and went to the boss' office to retrieve a paper document from the file cabinet. You know, at this point with the sprinklers spraying a lot of water around, the odds of escaping from the room with a dry paper document on hand can't be that high, right?

Another is when the tire of Gavin's car got unhooked. It seems too good to be true. Normally, when a car is left behind on the highway especially in a major city, it won't remain there for long, getting flagged and then towed. So, when Banek crashed his car, he got out and walked past the other vehicle. I said, "What a fascinating coincidence."

If director Roger Michell would focus on just two or three twists, the movie might be easy to swallow, but he decided to push the envelope further until going off the ledge. The ending isn't satisfying. I was disgusted when Banek came to the school, where the black father's sons attended, and spouted lies about him. It's unsettling and disappointing at once.

All in all, Changing Lanes is provocative but has become overwhelming.