The life of either of these men could make for a good story, but it takes their collision with the other to jar them, from their better natures as well as their destructive routines, and to allow them to take stock of their lives. Affleck’s morally inadequate routine is his power-hungry rise to the top, while Jackson’s is his addiction to recklessness. It’s important to know that “Changing Lanes” doesn’t have a flat-out villain. Jackson’s wife (Kim Staunton), while seeming harsh and judgmental, is only thinking of her children. The curt judge who won’t tolerate Jackson’s twenty-minute truancy is only trying to give the next case his full attention. In a shot that clearly shows the courtroom across the hall, where another custody hearing is going on, we realize the world can’t stop and start for Jackson’s convenience. Affleck himself, who could have been a cardboard hero, is a recovering philanderer who wins back some of our sympathy with his genuine remorse. In a deleted scene available on DVD we discover he went to confession and did penance.
If there is a villain, it is the concept of moral relativism that has seduced the oligarchy, represented by Affleck’s law firm. I think there is an instinct in all of us to believe that for a man with authority to be truly effective he must be a little dishonest. He must have the cunning to navigate the secret back rooms where power is delegated; he must be willing to cut corners and bend the rules. As Affleck’s boss and father-in-law, Sydney Pollack (himself a director, although not of this film) has only about four scenes, all magnificent. In the first he is a benevolent father to Affleck; in the second, when he learns Affleck has lost the file, he sheds his sheep’s clothing to reveal a profane viper. No one cares about your moral dilemma, he says to Affleck, although he uses harsher language than that. Later, when he’s calmed back down, when he’s realized like all moral relativists that he must continue to live with the man who married his daughter, he discusses his view on morality in law, which is that, at the end of the day, he has done more good than harm.
“Changing Lanes,” despite its realistic settings and almost documentary look, bares a vague resemblance to “Eyes Wide Shut” in that reality in New York seems to be warping so that these two men can re-examine their lives. In a movie often dealing with internal feelings like remorse and moral turmoil, director Roger Michell uses long shots as a contrast between the idealism in our heads and wide-open, amoral reality. Heavy-handed morality tales often use close-ups, to emphasize the heroism of the individual, while more powerful fables stress how vast and indifferent the world often is (if you’re dubious, check out the works of Malick and Mann). In its subtle way, “Changing Lanes” is also a good movie to look at; cinematographer Salvatore Totino gets a documentary feel by allowing many inside windows to seem over-bright, while the outdoors in New York are all cold, grey, and rainy. Kudos also to the set designers for creating Affleck’s vaguely Frank Lloyd Wright-esque law firm, of open breathing spaces and glass walls. I’d like to work in a place like that.
“Changing Lanes” is not a perfect movie. It stretches for poignancy and effect a little more than it should, and in reaching for its final message it wraps everything up a little too perfectly. Everyone in it is more articulate than his or her duress might suggest, and some dialogue sounds a little too much like a public speaking class. The movie is essentially a modern noir; as much as I appreciated its look, maybe “Changing Lanes” should have been shot in black-and-white, with desolate, rain-wet streets, and characters surrounded in portable clouds of cigarette smoke. The reach of “Changing Lanes” is a little farther than its grasp, but when so many movies are inoffensive, banal, and shamelessly shallow (um, “Spider-man?”), I find myself admiring its reach more and more. Its direction and look are so sure-footed, the writing is so mature, and its performances are absolutely on target. And although I won’t degrade us all with the cliché “it will make you think,” I can say that “Changing Lanes” made me think.
Finished November 15, 2002
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