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Changing Lanes
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Changing Lanes (2002) More at IMDbPro »

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Changing Lanes (2002) -- The story of what happens one day in New York when a young lawyer and a businessman share a small automobile accident on F.D.R. Drive and their mutual road rage escalates into a feud.

Overview

User Rating:
6.5/10   26,587 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 5% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Roger Michell
Writers (WGA):
Chap Taylor (story)
Chap Taylor (screenplay) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Changing Lanes on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
12 April 2002 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | Thriller more
Tagline:
An ambitious lawyer, a desperate father, they had no reason to meet, until today, more
Plot:
The story of what happens one day in New York when a young lawyer and a businessman share a small automobile accident on F.D.R. Drive and their mutual road rage escalates into a feud. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
4 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(35 articles)
[DVD Review] Changing Lanes
 (From JustPressPlay. 28 May 2009, 4:55 PM, PDT)

New to DVD - May 19th - May 25th
 (From SoundOnSight. 20 May 2009, 1:45 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
At least Ben Affleck's performance was pretty good more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for language.
Runtime:
98 min | Turkey:91 min (TV version)
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | Dolby Digital
Certification:
Iceland:L | Malaysia:U | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:15 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Austria:10 | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #38938) | Canada:AA (Ontario)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Roger Michell actually attended Alcoholic's Anonymous meetings in order to get the idea of how Doyle Gipson's (Samuel L. Jackson) A.A. meetings would play out on screen. more
Goofs:
Factual errors: On Good Friday in New York City all public schools are closed. None of the plot dealing with the two school children is possible on this date. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Doyle Gipson: Think I'll make this the boys' room.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in New Frontiers: Making 'The Missing' (2004) (V) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
7 out of 9 people found the following comment useful:-
At least Ben Affleck's performance was pretty good, 28 January 2003
Author: David Goody

With the way films are marketed you would be forgiven for thinking that great casting and an arresting idea are all you need to make a good film. One only has to witness how Martin Scorsese's name was hidden on all the publicity for Gangs Of New York , his pet project for the last twenty years, to understand the strength of this theory. Unfortunately for lazy minded marketers everywhere Changing Lanes shows what any cinemagoer could tell you, that the quality of a film is all in it's execution.

Ben Affleck and Samuel L Jackson are both in a hurry when they collide on a downtown freeway. Affleck takes off before exchanging details but without a crucial file for the case he is trying, whilst Jackson misses the custody battle for his children. This then leads to an ugly game of tit for tat revenge between the two, as they both sink lower and lower to salvage something from the day.

Despite the entire story taking place over a handful of hours the film has no tension, pace of immediacy, though this is a probably a side effect of the apathy that the lead characters provoke. Whilst Affleck and Jackson are perfectly cast as the lawyer losing sight of his morals and a desperate recovering alcoholic who seems to be fighting the whole world at once, the film never brings either to life. This is doubly galling since a good performance from Affleck seems to come once in a blue moon and so it is especially painful to see it go to waste.

By the time the fudged ending ruins what respect the film may have gained for it's gritty style you will be too sick of the shaky handheld camera work and improbable character decisions to care. Best to changed channels if you ever come across this on TV.

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Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Changing Lanes (2002)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
This is a truly brilliant film Eulamaes-rd
Films that made you walk out of a cinema midway Kotkijet
another quoting question tommyboy2k
whos fault was the crash? colagreen3
God Help Me To Accept The Things That I Can't Change muppetheadt
Changing lanes script? odedkeret
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