Changing Lanes (2002) is a drama/thriller film, directed by Roger Michell .

Plot

A successful New York attorney, Gavin Banek, (played by Affleck) is in a rush to file a Power of Appointment , which will sign the company of a dying old man over to his. He has a collision with another car, belonging to an insurance salesman, Doyle Gipson (played by Jackson). He is also in a rush to a hearing to try and gain custody of his children, and prevent his estranged wife from taking them to Oregon. After trying to brush him off with a cheque, the attorney esapes the scene, stranding Gipson. After arriving to the court late, he learns that it proceeded without him and that it didn't go in his favour.

Unfortunately for Banek, he dropped an important file at the scene of the accident, and the judge gives him until the end of the day to reobtain the papers and present them. Gipson has no intention of returning the papers, and in desperation, Banek goes to someone skilled with computers, and gets him to switch off Gipson's credit. Gipson needed credit for a loan so he could buy a house for his family, and he becomes further enraged, determined to make life difficult for Banek.

Both men continue to do questionable things in an attempt to one-up each other, and eventually they begin to question their actions. Though it is made clear that Banek and Gipson are radically different, they both have an angry, vengeful streak, capable of abandoning their morals just to punish the other. The film ends with both men having a new outlook on life, concentrating on ethics and the moral implications of their actions.

Tagline: One Wrong Turn Deserves Another

Cast

• Ben Affleck — Gavin Banek
• Samuel L. Jackson — Doyle Gipson
• Kim Staunton — Valerie Gipson
• Toni Collette — Michelle
• Sydney Pollack — Stephen Delano
• Tina Sloan — Mrs. Delano
• Richard Jenkins — Walter Arnell
• Akil Walker — Stephen Gipson
• Cole Hawkins — Danny Gipson
• Ileen Getz — Ellen
• Jennifer Dundas — Mina Dunne (as Jennifer Dundas Lowe)
• Matt Malloy — Ron Cabot
• Amanda Peet — Cynthia Banek
• Myra Lucretia Taylor — Judge Frances Abarbanel
• Bruce Altman — Joe Kaufman

External links

• Official site http://www.changinglanes.com/
• Changing Lanes http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0264472/ at the Internet Movie Database