CHANGING LANES

Year: 2002
USA: Paramount Pictures
UK: UIP (UK)
Cast: Ben Affleck, Samuel L Jackson, Toni Collette, Amanda Peet, Deen Badarou, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Dundas, Jordan Gelber, Jonathon Gentry, Ileen Getz, Angela Goethals, William Hurt, Greg Korin, Sean T Krishnan, Deenah Patterson, Sydney Pollack, Shabazz Richardson, Kim Staunton, Kevin Sussman
Director: Roger Michell
Country: USA
USA: 99 mins
UK: 98 mins
USA Rated: R for language
UK Certificate: 15 contains strong language
USA Release Date: 12 April 2002
UK Release Date: 1 November 2002

Synopsis

A rush-hour fender-bender on New York City's crowded FDR Drive, under most circumstances, wouldn't set off a chain reaction that could decimate two people's lives. But on this day, at this time, a minor collision will turn two complete strangers into vicious adversaries. Their means of destroying one another might be different, but their goals, ultimately, will be the same: Each will systematically try to dismantle the other's life in a reckless effort to reclaim something he has lost.

Late for court, high-powered attorney Gavin Banek (Ben Affleck) is weaving through heavy traffic. In a different lane, is Doyle Gipson (Samuel L Jackson), a father, whose right to see his children rests on the decision of a judge with a full docket and no time to spare. On the surface, Banek and Gipson are two very different men: One is struggling to reach the top of his career; the other is desperately scrambling away from rock bottom. But a minor accident will drive these two strangers to the brink of self-destruction, and prove that rage can equalize any playing field when men turn into beasts.