Director Roger Michell follows up the hit romantic comedy Notting Hill (1999) with
this thought-provoking thriller. Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson star, respectively,
as Gavin Banek and Doyle Gibson, two New York men whose lives become
accidentally intertwined in a Good Friday fender bender on the FDR Drive. Late
for a crucial appointment, hotshot lawyer Gavin tosses Doyle a blank check and
leaves the scene, while Doyle, whose car is inoperable, is late for a court-appointed
custody hearing. A recovering alcoholic, Doyle's tardiness doesn't sit well
with the judge, and his situation worsens when it becomes evident that a file
containing crucial information about his purchase of a home for his family has
ended up in Gavin's possession, while Doyle has an equally important file belonging
to Gavin. The judge grants custody to Doyle's ex-wife, and so begins an
escalating war of words and deeds between the two men. Soon, egged on by an associate
(Toni Collette), Gavin hires a "fixer" (Dylan Baker) to destroy Doyle's
credit, forcing Doyle to fire back with some cunning moves of his own. Changing
Lanes co-stars William Hurt, Sydney Pollack, and Toni Collette. |