David O'ConnellSliding Doors
April 28th 2009 02:28
A lightweight and easily digestible romantic drama, Peter Howitt’s 1998 debut sees the destiny of a woman pivoting on a serendipitous moment in time. Helen (Gwyneth Paltrow) has just been fired from her PR position and as she scrambles for her train in a disconsolate state, her alternate futures branch off to reveal two possible outcomes.
In one, she makes her train and arrives home to find her duplicitous boyfriend Gerry (John Lynch) enwrapped in the arms of a lover, Lydia (Jeanne Tripplehorn). Savaged by his deceit she decides to drown her sorrows but is soon won over by the charms of another man, James (John Hannah), who provides a conveniant outlet to unburden her troubles. They become closer and with the enticing possibilities offered by James' healing presence and the sage advice of best friend Anna (Zara Turner), she even summons the courage to raise her own PR company from the ground up.
Is she too vulnerable to fall for another man so soon? Does that even matter when the expectations of an entire genre are being prodded down a predictable path to assuage an audience bloated with generic notions of how this drama must transpire – or should that be, expire?
In the second strand, the forlorn Helen misses the train and gets struck on the head by a loony who wants her taxi, thus avoiding the ugly confrontation with Gerry and his lover. She senses something amiss in their relationship but presses on, oblivious to his betrayal; clearly Gerry's uncomfortable with his two-timing but unable to extricate himself from the whole mess even if he wanted to. Whilst Helen seeks menial work to make ends meet, Gerry’s life becomes ever more complicated, juggling his lovers and powerless to defend the specific virtues of either one to his tiny philanderer’s brain.
The two “lives” of Helen are cleverly interwoven, at times overlapping at the same time and place. To accentuate her new outlook – and avoid confusion for inattentive viewers, it would seem - she’s given a makeover with a fresh blonde trim more befitting a woman who’s looked suicidal procrastination in the eye and stared it down. In her alternate life, struggling along with her cheating boyfriend and loss of her chosen vocation, Helen remains straggly and pale, worn down by the grim platitudes keeping her spirits aloft.
On the surface Paltrow is all perfection with glamour and beauty in spades; her flawless superficiality may serve the film well but her lack of substance means conveying the darkness eating away at her is short changed by her palest imitation of dead-eyed detachment; it’s something you might see reflecting back from the eyes of an old dog-chewed Barbie doll. She doesn’t always impress with her fabricated English accent either and it’s a distraction at times.
Lynch is an extremely demonstrative, physical actor; arms flailing in futile gesticulation, his body often becomes a natural extension of his emotions. As he proved in Angel Baby his intensity can be a powerful, enervating force in a suitable context; here it feels more problematic and slightly contrived. Because we’re privy to his cheating ways, it’s difficult to be swayed into empathising with his pathetic deceitfulness, floundering for concoctions to allay Helen’s growing suspicions.
Hannah on the other hand, proves to be the best thing about the film, somehow avoiding a grating monotony with his Mr. Nice Guy act. As the irrepressible James, a man who stops talking only to sleep, he's believably attractive as the perfect tonic for the ailing Helen as she tries to regain stability in her life.
Ultimately, the most pressing question remains: which strand of the story is Helen’s real life, and which is the alternative future, either missed or avoided? The conspiring of fate will eventually win out you assume, otherworldly forces coinciding for a cleverly conceived final frame with its perfect possibilities. Sliding Doors may be inconsequential fare but it has an admittedly clever concept driving it and is far from unenjoyable.
In one, she makes her train and arrives home to find her duplicitous boyfriend Gerry (John Lynch) enwrapped in the arms of a lover, Lydia (Jeanne Tripplehorn). Savaged by his deceit she decides to drown her sorrows but is soon won over by the charms of another man, James (John Hannah), who provides a conveniant outlet to unburden her troubles. They become closer and with the enticing possibilities offered by James' healing presence and the sage advice of best friend Anna (Zara Turner), she even summons the courage to raise her own PR company from the ground up.
Is she too vulnerable to fall for another man so soon? Does that even matter when the expectations of an entire genre are being prodded down a predictable path to assuage an audience bloated with generic notions of how this drama must transpire – or should that be, expire?
In the second strand, the forlorn Helen misses the train and gets struck on the head by a loony who wants her taxi, thus avoiding the ugly confrontation with Gerry and his lover. She senses something amiss in their relationship but presses on, oblivious to his betrayal; clearly Gerry's uncomfortable with his two-timing but unable to extricate himself from the whole mess even if he wanted to. Whilst Helen seeks menial work to make ends meet, Gerry’s life becomes ever more complicated, juggling his lovers and powerless to defend the specific virtues of either one to his tiny philanderer’s brain.
The two “lives” of Helen are cleverly interwoven, at times overlapping at the same time and place. To accentuate her new outlook – and avoid confusion for inattentive viewers, it would seem - she’s given a makeover with a fresh blonde trim more befitting a woman who’s looked suicidal procrastination in the eye and stared it down. In her alternate life, struggling along with her cheating boyfriend and loss of her chosen vocation, Helen remains straggly and pale, worn down by the grim platitudes keeping her spirits aloft.
On the surface Paltrow is all perfection with glamour and beauty in spades; her flawless superficiality may serve the film well but her lack of substance means conveying the darkness eating away at her is short changed by her palest imitation of dead-eyed detachment; it’s something you might see reflecting back from the eyes of an old dog-chewed Barbie doll. She doesn’t always impress with her fabricated English accent either and it’s a distraction at times.
Lynch is an extremely demonstrative, physical actor; arms flailing in futile gesticulation, his body often becomes a natural extension of his emotions. As he proved in Angel Baby his intensity can be a powerful, enervating force in a suitable context; here it feels more problematic and slightly contrived. Because we’re privy to his cheating ways, it’s difficult to be swayed into empathising with his pathetic deceitfulness, floundering for concoctions to allay Helen’s growing suspicions.
Hannah on the other hand, proves to be the best thing about the film, somehow avoiding a grating monotony with his Mr. Nice Guy act. As the irrepressible James, a man who stops talking only to sleep, he's believably attractive as the perfect tonic for the ailing Helen as she tries to regain stability in her life.
Ultimately, the most pressing question remains: which strand of the story is Helen’s real life, and which is the alternative future, either missed or avoided? The conspiring of fate will eventually win out you assume, otherworldly forces coinciding for a cleverly conceived final frame with its perfect possibilities. Sliding Doors may be inconsequential fare but it has an admittedly clever concept driving it and is far from unenjoyable.
Helen (Gywneth Paltrow) with James (John Hannah)
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Comment by MelGee
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
Comment by The Rusty Can
Everything
It has been a while since I last saw this movie, but I do remember Gynneth Paltrow as being rather wooden in it. The scenes where Helen's lives intersect were, as you said, clever - the one where she was a guest as well as waitstaff at the same party was especially well done.
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
Paltrow has been a lot better, especially in films like Proof where she has a meatier character to sink her teeth into. I'm sure a lot of people, especially women, remember this film fondly though - I wonder why it's taken me 11 years to see it!!??
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
Yes, poor old Gywneth, no doubt off "nourishing the inner aspect" as we speak.
A load of sickly Goop indeed!
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
This is one of those films that had a promising idea done in an "oh too obvious way". Found it surprisingly bland and clumsy in direction.
The structure could have worked but falls down because it shows its had way to early on to keep me involved.
The casting too let it down with Paltrow pushed beyond her doe eyed limits to the point where she has to over punctuate every emotion of her character...I hope someone remakes it though with a script tweak and better exploration of the pivotal concepts.
Comment by Lilla
From The Home Front
Enviro Warrior
Dream Herald
Esoteric Bookshop
A strange review for a man to make on a what I would call an A grade Chick flick?
But I am really glad you reminded me of this one, it is one you forget easily, isn*t it, yet for me (at the time of watching it), a powerfully uplifting film that so cleverly weaved the two realities together whilst serving to remind that every day choices are what its all about in making the difference in life.
A positive though from me, mainly from a woman*s subjective POV, because you truly would have had to be shacked up with such a *charming* looser, to understand the impetus of what drives a woman to do so, and how that can quite easily drag her life into the gutters of dispair, to truly see the value in this one. And that heroes don*t always come in macho man superstar bodies. *chuckle* I don*t think women care so much for the technical stuff being perfect if the moral of *Don*t Do It* (or *How to recognise a Charming sleeze*) is clear enough, because so many women have a blind spot where this type is concerned.
I am trying to think of a male movie equivalent where the guy is being jerked about by a nice woman who is unscrupulously using him, but cannot.
Certainly one of my favourite motivational chick flicks and I think most women would agree they enjoyed this one, despite the often woody acting, as you say. ..(I hope a few more come along to offer their opinion on this one)..
Lilla
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
Cibby, I didn't really watch all of that YouTube clip..................but you've just confirmed my greatest hopes!!
Hey Lilla, many thanks for the brilliant reply! Yes, I know it's a strange choice for a man...........but then we are fundamentally weak creatures and don't always have entire control over what we watch on occasions!!
It certainly has all the right ingredients for a successful romantic drama, and though I'm sure Hannah's character probably turns a lot of men off I quite like him as an actor and so he made this reasonably entertaining for me.
P.S I wish I knew how to spell Ms. Paltrow's first name correctly! I've managed to stuff it up and get the W and Y around the wrong way a number of times here. I hope she doesn't hold it against me..................I've said such nice things about her otherwise!