Changing Lanes

CHANGING LANES

Rating: A

Surprisingly intelligent character study of two men from different walks of life.

This is one of those rare movies driven by the power of its script. And the more I thought about it afterward, the better I liked the film. How many Hollywood offerings can you say that about?

Ben Affleck plays a promising young attorney, well on his way to a full partnership in his prestigious Manhattan law firm. While scrambling to make a very important court appearance, he collides with Samuel L. Jackson on the FDR expressway. Although Jackson wants to do everything by the book (exchanging insurance information, etc.), Affleck is in too much of a hurry, and drives off leaving Jackson stranded with an incapacitated car. The kicker is that Jackson, too, was on his way to a very important court date, and in his absence the judge awards his ex-wife the right to move to Oregon with their two kids. Ouch. But wait - there's more. In the ensuing chaos after the accident, Affleck drops a file folder crucial to his case, which Jackson (naturally) picks up after Affleck departs the scene. So now Affleck needs the folder back from the person he just pissed off in a major way.

Yes, I realize Chap Taylor's script is contrived. Aside from the coincidences involved, the story performs backflips through hoops in order to explain why Affleck absolutely needs the original folder in lieu of a copy. On Jackson's end, the judge's refusal to accept a traffic accident as a legitimate excuse for being late seems a mite implausible (ya think?). Then things get even more contrived when Affleck learns his loss of the file may send his bosses and him to the big house. You can bet a major life re-evaluation looms ahead in the distance.

But accept the story's premise for what it is, and this film becomes thoroughly engrossing. We learn early on that Jackson is a recovering alcoholic (the AA meeting was my first clue), but I was busy observing his behavior and thinking, "Never mind AA, this guy needs anger management classes." Later on we realize that that's part of the point - Jackson's character is seriously flawed. Although essentially a good man at heart who "wants to do things right," he constantly sabotages his life by his inability to control his anger over perceived injustices. As his AA mentor William Hurt puts it later in the film, he's "addicted to chaos."

Affleck's life is similarly unstable; he just hasn't realized it yet. Blinded by his material success, the incident with Jackson and the subsequent developments force him to face the reality of who he and his superiors really are for the first time in his life. As the film progresses, the importance of the missing file rises up and down, and each change corresponds to an associated revelation about his life and a new decision to make. To Taylor's and director Roger Michell's credit, even Affleck's boss (Sydney Pollack) is allowed to have depth and a degree of humanity while playing the role of the villain. Affleck's growing disillusionment is not unlike the course Charlie Sheen follows in Wall Street, with the exception that here there's considerably more moral ambiguity.

Never one to pass up the opportunity to nitpick (you guys know me better than that), I feel obliged to point out a few scenes which seem either awkward or completely unnecessary. There's a sequence with Jackson confronting two white advertising guys in a bar which really doesn't need to be in the film at all, and likely will leave you wondering, "What the heck was that?" Then there's a restaurant meeting between Affleck and his wife (Amanda Peet) where she rattles off information like a machine gun as if she's in a hurry to catch a bus or something. After this strange scene, you'll realize there's no way those two could actually be married to each other. Finally, one of Jackson's schemes to get back at Affleck goes way over the top, and could easily have gotten Affleck killed. I realize Jackson is supposed to have a problem with anger, but this particular act almost puts him beyond the point of redemption.

One of my favorite parts of the film involves Affleck interviewing two candidates for a prospective internship at the law firm. As you might imagine, his final decision is greatly influenced by his concurrent experiences with Jackson and Pollack, and his speech to the person he decides to hire hits the nail on the head. Or maybe I think so because it agrees with my own beliefs... Whatever - I want to see this movie again.