Paramount

Changing Lanes never appealed to me during its theatrical run and I blame that entirely on Paramount’s marketing department. The commercials were not enticing in the least and quite frankly made me forget the film in a matter of minutes after viewing them. With the release of the DVD, I was willing to give Changing Lanes a try and am I glad I did. Propelled by a dynamic script and stellar performances, Changing Lanes gives life to an urban drama which tests the ideals of two men on the brink of insanity.

T...e story centers around Gavin Banek (Ben Affleck), a corporate attorney who realizes he takes advantage of others but has never confronted himself about the moral implications of the life he lives. While trying to rush to a court appointment, he is involved in a fender-bender accident on the FDR with Doyle Gipson (Samuel L. Jackson), also on his way to court but as a defendant in a child custody battle. This encounter appears harmless at first, outside of Gavin wanting to pay for the damage in cash and Doyle demanding to do the right thing and exchange insurance information. But when Gavin realizes he left Doyle with a vital court document to win his case and keep himself out of jail, his skirmish with Doyle to retrieve the document by close of business crescendos in a series of violent and disturbing incidents.