Sliding Doors is a film which brings to the screens the question ‘what if?’ it was released in 1998 and is still managing to bring in plenty of viewers due to its unique story and layout which has been copied, but not as successfully, since.

What’s it all about?

The movie is a romance story about Helen, the film follows her in her struggles through her life, work and especially her love life. The starting and main point of the film is at the beginning, she is catching a train which turns out to be a major pinpoint of her life.

The film is then split into two stories, one in which follows on from her catching the train, and one of which follows on from her missing the train. This small event in Helen’s life changes everything and the consequences of either one is flashed back to throughout the film, and she experiences a whole different life in each story.

Who’s Involved?

The director and writer Peter Howlett managed to put together a cast which immediately brings in viewers through the reputation of the actors, I have listed the main cast members -

Gwyneth Paltrow - Helen Quilley

John Hannah - James

John Lynch - Gerry

Jeanne Tripplehorn - Lydia

Zara Turner - Anna

The part of Helen is played beautifully by Paltrow, the complexity of her part is simplified by her straightforward acting.
Gwyneth Paltrow was perfect for this role. She is famous enough to bring in the audience yet incredibly understated and therefore I personally found it easy to relate to her character throughout the middle and the end of the film.
However, I have seen this film many times, and I always find that for the first half an hour or so her acting is very stiff and she comes across as slightly to surly and stuck up. After this period of time into the film it is easy to warm to her in both stories being portrayed in the film and after the full duration I always find that I am totally in empathy with her character.

John Hannah is also great in his role, although the film is a romance film it also contains some light comedy and he is the main source of this making the story light-hearted and easy to get along with. I find his acting to be very natural and I would think that any audience is able to connect with his character almost immediately from his entrance.

John Lynch plays Helen’s slimy boyfriend, and throughout the film he keeps consistent with this role, in both stories he maintains himself and even has a comedy factor to some of his scenes, which makes him seem foolish but never likable.

Zara Turner plays a cruel and slutty (for want of a better word) interfering factor in Helen’s life. There are parts in the film in which I am able to actually hate her character which I suppose means that she is playing her part well!

Overall the acting is good from all angles and baring in mind the actors are playing two different stories their performance are extremely credible.

Structure

The film may seem although its too confusing for thought however from the first time of watching it, and every time I have watched it since I have admired how well the director has played the daring story structure.

The film is split from within the first five minutes and it is easy to follow each story as they are constantly flicked between. The director uses graphic tools to make sure that as a viewer you know which scenario you are in (getting on train/missing train) for example, in one scenario Helen gets her hair cut and coloured, where as in the other she is still plain with the same hair.
The characters in each story are the same, so the way they act to keep the scenarios separate is excellent and I think this paired with the brilliant scene structures makes the film less confusing and more enjoyable.

Why two is better

We are all amazingly fascinated by the big question ‘what if?’ which is another reason that the film has so many viewers and received so many fans when it was first released. The idea that one small event can change the whole of our life is unbearable to think about, Sliding Doors really shows the impact that small things in our lives can have.

Helen becomes two different people in the film and the stories grow so far apart but remain amazingly parallel, to put such a big concept on the screen is admirable and is most likely the sole reason for the success of the film.

The film, although not incredibly deep, does have a moral, and the ending left me and I am sure most viewers wondering which plot was for the best, it also left me with the feeling that even though small events can change the path of lives we all end up at the same crossroad anyway (that is my deep thought of the day) and if you have seen the film you will know hat I mean by this.

The DVD

The DVD is just a film, mine does not have any particularly interesting extras, just an interview with the director, and obviously being a laid back British Romcom there is no need for special effects!

The cover of the DVD is pretty boring which I think will probably let it down in sales when being viewed by public, it simply shows Paltrow in two different sections, how she looks in each scenario, so even though it is a plain cover, it does give a small insight into the film, and the back of the DVD case does not give too much away, but still gives the gist of the plot.

The good and the Bad

The film for me is an easy watch, it has many laughs in it and there are a few sad bits along the way, all in all it has all the traits of a great romcom, however there is something not quite ‘great’ about the film. It is not one that I rave about after watching, despite having watched it probably about 10 -15 times.

The film lacks something, and it is hard to put my finger on it, after watching it last night I would say that although it has comedy factors, there are no memorable gems or hilarious one liners which left me rolling around laughing, although it is sad in parts there is nothing which I think would make me cry, no matter how vulnerable my mood is. The whole film runs along the average line, but still manages to be entertaining enough to be a classic British Romcom.

I think that one of the main problems which the Director has with this film is that it will always be compared with other British Romcoms, like Notting Hill etc the fact that the storyline is split into two just doesn’t set it apart that noticeably to make different or outstanding in comparison to some of the British greats.

One of the main advantages of this film is ease of viewing, which is probably why I have seen it so many times. It is easy to get into the film, the acting is so smooth that the transition from one story into two is barely noticeable and the story is light and enjoyable meaning that it’s a relaxing watch and definitely one to get out time and time again.

Although it is advisable to keep your eye on the story, I often find that it also a nice film to have on in the background on a girls night, or whilst I am doing something on my laptop. I have seen it so many times now that I am able to tune in to the film and I have not yet tired off the storyline or any of the characters.

Who’s it for?

I would definitely say that this is a girly film, although if you are a man and are being asked to watch it by your girlfriend then I would not fret too much, it is enjoyable for all.

The film contains some strong language in points and also the odd sexual scene and therefore I would say that it is not a good idea to watch it around children, not that they would by interested anyway.

This film is definitely suited for woman from age 15 to 100! And is probably best watched with a glass of wine and some kind of dip, just for the added girliness!

Overall

Overall, this film is not outstanding, but it is enjoyable and definitely worth buying on DVD, I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys light hearted romcoms, and the reason I recommend it on DVD is because it can be picked up for around £3 online and is one to keep and dig out when your at loss of what to watch!

My DVD copy is fairly old and does not have any special features or added extras accept the usual scene selection and interview with the director (which is not interesting) however it is cheaply picked up and is a good 99 minutes of easy viewing.

Enjoy xx