Sliding Doors (1998)
The Cast
Gwyneth Paltrow .... Helen Quilley
John Hannah .... James Hammerton
John Lynch .... Gerry
Jeanne Tripplehorn .... Lydia
Zara Turner .... Anna
Douglas McFerran .... Russell
Written & directed by Peter Howitt, Sliding Doors is a kinda Run Lola Run romantic comedy, without the re-doing of events. It's about that one miniscule event in your life that changes your entire future. Except this movie shows us the two threads Helen's (Paltrow) life would've gone in if she'd only have caught / missed that train.
In one case, she is mugged & misses out on catching her boyfriend cheating on her. The other case, well, she catches him. & the two threads veer off from there, with startlingly similar events happening in both. Which just goes to show you, like Death, Fate shall not be stopped.
So a buncha stuff happens, Helen has a Meet Cute with James (Hannah) & it goes on from there. As well, since she's still with her clod boyfriend Gerry (Lynch), that part of her life goes on too. I could go on, but frankly, it makes my head hurt a bit.
The idea is pretty good, in principle. The acting's good, the music's alright, everything's just pretty alright I guess. This is kind of a lacklustre review, but I did enjoy the movie. I might've just been too Britted out from watching Closer beforehand. I'll go with a 3 outta 5.
Roger Ebert's review