Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Changing Lanes Blu-ray Movie Review

Powerful performances can't quite save this one...

It seems I'm cursed. Every time volcanic powerhouse Samuel L. Jackson appears in a film, I hear his crackling voice in the back of my head ranting about snakes on a plane... and how he's had enough of them (the version that barks in my brain is more colorful, of course). Slowburn dramas like Resurrecting the Champ? "Enough is enough!" A by-the-numbers procedural like Freedomland? "I have had it..." A derivative dose of camp like The Spirit? "With these mother $&%ing snakes..." Popping up for thirty seconds at the tail end of a successful summer blockbuster like Iron Man? "On this mother $&%ing plane!" It never fails. Ah well, at least it makes an underwhelming and overwrought character study like Changing Lanes a bit more enjoyable.

Watching a good man being used as the universe's punching bag is incredibly frustrating...

Changing Lanes tells the thinly-veiled morality tale of a young, hotshot attorney named Gavin Banek (Ben Affleck) who gets in a car accident with a down-on-his-luck insurance salesman named Doyle Gipson (Samuel L. Jackson). As fate would have it, both men are on their way to the courthouse: Banek has been tasked with filing important power of appointment documentation for his bosses (Sydney Pollack and The Visitor's Richard Jenkins) and Gipson is scheduled to attend a custody hearing to prevent his ex-wife (Kim Staunton) from moving his sons to Oregon. Unfortunately for Gipson, Banek isn't interested in civilities or formalities and leaves the desperate salesman stranded in the middle of the freeway. As a result of their chance encounter, Gipson misses his hearing and loses custody of his children, while Banek, elsewhere in the building, realizes he left the a crucial file at the scene of the accident. Before you can say class warfare, the well-intentioned father of two reveals he has the paperwork, the smooth-talking lawyer makes it clear that he'll get it back whatever the cost, and the two men become locked in a clash of wills that drives each one to his breaking point.

Even though he doesn't make race an outright issue, Notting Hill director Roger Michell peppers his character study with typecasting galore. Samuel L. Jackson as a poor, angry black man fighting against a system that holds little regard for his circumstances or his contributions to society? Didn't see that one coming. Ben Affleck as a smug and smarmy white attorney willing to step on the little guy to push himself up the corporate ladder? Haven't seen that one before. Sydney Pollack and Richard Jenkins as the ever-calculating faces of greed and privilege? Amanda Peet as a doting moral compass? William Hurt as a wise source of measured council? Sigh... the film is so predictable at times that the story crumbles under the lumbering weight of the familiarity of it all. To his credit, Michell does keep his actors grounded amidst screenwriter Chap Taylor's dense and meticulously constructed storyline, but he takes on far too many targets: race relations, generational differences, class struggles, corporate America, parental rights, interpersonal morality, and subjective ethics among them.

It's the actors -- fantastic in their overcooked roles -- that make Changing Lanes worth watching. Jackson chews on dialogue as if it were the main course in his last meal, yet crafts Gipson into one of the most believable characters on the screen. Despite the film's terribly contrived setup and all-too-convenient plot developments, he never steps so far over the edge that Gipson becomes unsympathetic... admittedly a more difficult challenge for his slick-haired adversary. Thankfully, Affleck handles Banek's mounting hesitance and welcome self-doubt with nuanced control; his expressive performance elevates the barebones tit-for-tat vendettas at the heart of the story and gives his character a roundedness that makes the wrapped-up-with-a-bow ending more bearable. He isn't given the room he needs to completely flesh out Banek's motivations
(the film takes place over a ludicrously short period of time), but he does well with what he's given. And, as expected, the late Sydney Pollack steals the show, arriving early and closing late with a memorable walk-on performance that outclasses his younger co-stars.

Even though Changing Lanes rises with its excellent performances, it sinks with a heavy-handed screenplay, molasses-soaked pacing, and painfully obvious direction. I wish I could recommend it as a stirring exploration of race and class in modern America -- particularly during a time when tumultuous financial crises are dominating the news -- but it misses too many opportunities and squanders too much of its potential to resonate as resoundingly as its filmmakers intended.

Changing Lanes Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

It may not offer the most striking cinematography (dueling closeups rule the day) or sharpest image, but Changing Lanes features another competent and capable 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer from Paramount Pictures. While Michell frequently drains his palette of color, skintones remain relatively natural, primaries are still given the opportunity to pop on occasion, and black levels are quite deep. Shaky cameras and low-lit interiors make detailing inconsistent -- poorly focused shots dominate the proceedings, crisp edges usually give way to softer ones, and textures aren't as refined as I hoped they would be -- but such shortcomings should be attributed to the source rather than the studio's technical transfer. Edge enhancement is kept to a minimum, artifacting never becomes an issue, delineation is impressive, and distracting noise isn't a factor. I suspect a slight application of noise reduction (closeups sometimes have a spongy, at-times buffed appearance), but it's so negligible that I can't be certain. All things considered, Changing Lanes delivers a faithful rendering of Michell's intentions. I doubt the film could look much better than it does here.

Changing Lanes Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Chalk it up to the original sound design if it helps you sleep at night, but Paramount's Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround track is nevertheless inconsistent and front-heavy. There are moments when the rear speakers assault the listener, creating an immersive soundfield and a convincing sense of depth. However, more often than not, they disappear from the mix altogether or simply spend their time toiling with the most basic ambient effects. Acoustics lose their authenticity, voices pull forward, and crowded sequences are surprisingly uninvolving. Some notable LFE oomph enhances the weight of it all, but I couldn't help but feel disappointed with the presentation. On the flipside, dialogue is clean, intelligible, and well prioritized in the mix: Jackson's enraged intonations sound just as perfect as his hushed desperation, Affleck's nervous asides are steady and stable, and their most heated conversations (even when played out over a phone) are precise. Fans will probably be more forgiving of the track's flat soundscape -- particularly since it draws attention to the film's performances above all else -- but audiophiles will be underwhelmed by the shortsighted sonics and hollow soundfield.

Changing Lanes Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Don't be fooled by the list of special features on the back cover: the Blu-ray edition of Changing Lanes offers the same mediocre supplemental package that helped make its DVD counterpart a permanent fixture in bargain bins across the country. It doesn't help that the video content is presented in standard definition, the disc's commentary is a snooze-fest, and the featurettes are exceedingly short and shallow.

• Audio Commentary: Director Roger Michell delivers a subdued and spotty discussion with pauses a plenty. He touches on September 11th and its effects on the production, but ultimately fails to pull back the curtain on the film and its characters. Even though a few entertaining anecdotes pepper his track, the company of Ben Affleck or Samuel L. Jackson would have gone a long way toward invigorating the proceedings.
• Behind-the-Scenes Featurette (SD, 15 minutes): Slapped with a misleading Making Of moniker, this painfully superficial, terribly uninformative EPK is more concerned with selling the film than exploring it.
• A Writer's Perspective (SD, 7 minutes): This secondary featurette is a bit better, but still suffers from an all-too-short runtime and rampant back-patting.
• Deleted and Extended Scenes (SD, 10 minutes): Three sequences that were wisely trimmed from the final cut of the film.
• Theatrical Trailer (HD, 2 minutes)

Changing Lanes Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Changing Lanes didn't work for me, but it's performances were strong enough to warrant a fair shake from anyone hasn't seen the film. Paramount's Blu-ray edition features a faithful video transfer, an unexpectedly front-heavy TrueHD audio track, and a trite and boring smattering of supplements. Considering how quickly this disc will wind its way to the Blu-ray bargain bin, give it a rent and see if it appeals to you... you'll probably be able to nab it at a great price if you deem it worth purchasing.