Day 50 -- Sliding Doors

Released: April 24th, 1998

Starring: Gwyneth Paltrow, John Hannan, John Lynch

Writer/Director: Peter Howitt

Description: A London woman's love life and career both hinge, unknown to her, on whether or not she catches a train. We see it both ways, in parallel.

[Review may contain spoilers. Please watch movie before reading, unless you don't care. Most of these films have already been released for a while, so they should be readily available.]

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We have all imagined what would happen if a single event in our live went differently. If I had asked so and so out, or if I had taken job A instead of job B, or if I had gone to college or not? For some it's because of regret, but for other it's out of curiosity. Nobody likes to think that life is unexpected, and love to know which choice gives them the best life. Its human nature to want to know the future, but if we knew all the answers, what fun would life be?

"Sliding Doors" attempts to show this situation with a much more trivial situation: catch the train, or miss the train. The premise, and eventual plot, is an interesting one in that is very well told. It more about destiny and fate than anything because she ends up with the same man, but gets there two different ways.

The story itself reminds me of a lyric from a George Harrison song: "Many roads can take you there/Many different ways/One direction takes you years/Another takes you days." For those that don't know, that's from "Derha Dun" and pretty much sums up the theme of "Sliding Doors". In both realities, Helen (Paltrow) meets James (Hannah), but in one she meets him in the beginning of the film, and the other she meets him at the end. It's obvious her destiny is James, but it's a matter of how much pain does she suffer before that point; quick in one or drawn out in another.

There's a theory that I've discussed with other people who have seen the movie that I find intriguing. The argument is always made why does blonde Helen have to die? She's the one who had the happier year. But what if the brown-haired Helen is the real storyline. Sure, missing the train made her have a more miserable year, but she became a stronger person, who was actually ready for her relationship with James. And blonde Helen had to die because her story was just a glimpse of what he alternate reality would have looked like, and showed that she had met James too soon, who she was not ready for yet.

The editing was really well done. Blending the parallel lives, while keeping the movie from not becoming confusing. Some of that credit has to belong to the writer, who did the genius thing and made her change her hair. The most impressive feat was the transitioning back and forth between the two lives while Helen was in the hospital. It was practically seamless, especially when they did the one-shots in the hallway. Some great stuff for an average rom-com.

I would be remissed if I didn't mention the terrible accent Paltrow used in the entire film. It's a shame because it ruined an otherwise fine performance. She and Hannah we clearly the best actors in the film, and Lynch was terrible miscast as cheating boyfriend Gerry. I wonder if hiring a British actress for the role of Helen would have improved the quality of the movie. It was high-level mediocrity, so I don't know if an actress with a less distracting accent would've made a difference.

"Sliding Doors" joins a long list of average to good rom-coms that litters American cinemas. The unique story is well told, and is different enough that most people have a vague memory of it, but have forgotten some of the details. For me personally, I had forgotten about Paltrow poor attempt at a British accent, but I had also forgot about Hannah's good turn as James. It's not strong enough to stand out because of the writing, but it does leave a lasting memory like "Memento", even if you don't recall the details.

Rating: 6.5/10 -- Watchable rom-com with solid acting. Makes a lot of good choices in editing, and leaves a mark on the watcher's brain that keeps the film in their memory. Paltrow may or may not be a bitch in real life, but I think she's an underrated actress.actress.