Volume CXXXI, Number 22 April 19, 2002 f

Changing Lanes speeds by competition
MONICA GUZMAN
ORIENT STAFF

The thing that distinguishes a good thriller from a bad one is humanity. Plain and simple. If you don't know or particularly care enough about the characters or their struggles, you get Panic Room, the subject of last week's review, which got boring when something wasn't exploding or Jodi Foster wasn't running. If you do, however, you get gems like Changing Lanes, a thriller that, thankfully, got it right.

There was an appeal to human issues here that reached beyond the scope of the amazing car crash scenes and skilled cinematography; the stories and struggles of the two protagonists became more thrilling than the visual spectacles the genre usually relies on. The adrenalin takes the back seat while the story drives you along-that's the way to ride a thriller.

Changing Lanes tells the story of how bad luck on the freeway throws two men on a path of escalating destruction for over 36 hours. On a day when both lawyer Gavin Banek (Ben Affleck) and recovering alcoholic Doyle Gibson (Samuel L. Jackson) had to be in court, they have an accident on the FDR after which Gibson is tragically late to a custody hearing and Banek realizes he left a crucial file at the scene. So begins a disastrous day-long feud that throws their lives into turmoil and forces them to revaluate where they're heading.

This is Roger Michell's second film of note, after he directed the acclaimed Notting Hill in 1999. If this is an experimental dip into a different genre, he certainly succeeded on his first try. Not only that, he managed to help Ben Affleck regain the respect he lost after such atrocities as Pearl Harbor and Bounce. Here, Ben sweats and paces just like a real lawyer-so close to the real thing I'd almost say he should change careers… but actually, this is the best acting we've seen from him to date-Gavin changes during the course of the film as he realizes that he has been succumbing to the corruption of his profession, and Ben brilliantly shows the pain associated with that kind of self-evaluation. As for Samuel, there really is nothing he can't do; he succeeds in portraying Gibson both violently and with sympathy for his softer side so that we understand his struggles and root him on.

The most remarkable thing about this movie is the characters. Somehow, we feel connected to every last one of them-down to Gibson's bank teller. But it's the two protagonists that offer the biggest portion of the human condition. Though dramatically different, their ultimate goals are the same: to find what it is to live right and follow it.

I don't mean to undermine the thrilling aspects of the film by going off about its story. The plotline is both humanly understandable and completely unpredictable-the perfect ingredients for suspense that only the best thrillers can provide. Entertainment and enlightenment-the two are rarely seen together during the dry season in Hollywood. Take advantage of this little oasis. You'll be very glad you did.