Buy the DVD:

Sliding Doors

The world around us is an amazing, mystical resource of the unknown. In the movie Sliding Doors, we get to tap into some of the unknown with the possibilities of two stories played out by one woman's destiny to "catch" and "not catch" the London commuter rail.

Helen (Gwyneth Paltrow) is in Public Relations. She's darn good at what she does, until she gets fired for taking 4 bottles of vodka which her upper crusty male coworkers claimed she stole -- a sneaky, low-down, dirty way of getting her out of the company. The thing is she even bought some more to replace the ones she took. It just didn't matter. She was given the boot frankly because she was a woman who had more success and power than her beastly male macho-thinking associates. Unfortunately, Helen made a microscopic slip that caused her to lose her job.

Well, life can be rotten every now and then, but it's so nice to come home to a loving, faithful man who will comfort and support you, especially in your time of need.

Did I say faithful? This is not going to be an easy day for Helen (or should I say either Helen?) There are two different scenarios presented to us (side by side) in what lies ahead for Helen (both roles played by Paltrow).

The first story is set. Helen catches the train by the skin of her teeth, meets a nice fellow by the name of James (John Hannah) who appears to have acquired a fancy for her, but Helen clearly makes it known she is involved with another man.

Once at home, Helen then catches her boyfriend, Gerry (John Lynch), in bed with his ex-girlfriend, Lydia (Jeanne Tripplehorn). Helen never even saw this woman before, but the affair has been going on for a while.

This first story will unravel with Helen taking on a new identity of herself (a super deluxe hairstyle), finding a new love (James), and taking on a more independent, creative work environment (as her own boss)!

With all of this in front of her what could go wrong?

Time will tell...

The second story leaves Helen missing the train, getting mugged, and finding her boyfriend home alone in the apartment washing off his dirty little secret. Helen looks for a new job, but can't find anything in her field, so she ends up working as a waitress at night and as a sandwich shop delivery person during the day.

Helen does all this tiresome and monotonous work that drains the life out of her, just so her boyfriend can continue to "work on his novel" and "go to the library."

Helen starts testing the waters of her relationship. She's getting vibes of something not quite right with her boyfriend. Now with all this messy stuff going on, what else could happen?

Time will tell...

Gwyneth Paltrow played both of her roles beautifully. Each one was crafted with efficiency, demureness, and creative humor.

John Hannah is so charming, so funny, and so able to melt your heart and win you over by the sheer gentleman-like quality he dresses himself in. His character was such a delightful cutie and made "nice" terrific!

John Lynch's character was a creepy crawler! He played the struggling "loyal" boyfriend and struck gold with it. There were some qualities he showed with some kind of emotion that seemed to be sincere and honest, but it didn't stay long, and overall he was just a jerk and treated Helen as a special delivery package to himself as he tossed out all the protective packaging inside of it. He just wanted the toy to play with!

Jeanne Tripplehorn is another actress who delivered strong roles. Her character was malicious, demanding, and a witch in a pretty face.

First-time director Peter Howitt was a bull's eye winner! It was so smooth you could spread it on bread. Very easy to identify with and understand each story as it progressed. Talent, pure and simple! Overall, it had a great cast that had you in the palm of their hands.

The soundtrack is jamming with fun, energetic, and moving music, featuring: Dido, Jamiroquai, Aimee Mann, Blair, Aqua, and Peach Union. The songs represent the cycles of a changing life -- a good selection of music that complimented the movie extremely well.

The wonderful thing about this movie is how fast you'll find yourself immersed in each story. Did you have a favorite from the start, or did you fall for another as it was progressing? Each story has its pros and cons, hoping only that the best life that Helen's lives will be the right one you choose in your own mind.

This is a wonderful story of courage, broken love, romance, future love, and life's challenges leaving you to face a road not looked at before. How you choose to walk down that road will be the decision left entirely up to you.

Along with the strong elements of comedy, there are times in the movie where the drama of saddness and pain hits hard, but it's well worth it. I truly enjoyed this movie, and hope you will, too.

Written by: Lynda Dale MacLean

Reviewers Rating: 9
Reader's Rating: 8.65
Reader's Votes: 34

Rate It