SLIDING DOORS
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Capsule: Two possible futures for the same
woman are explored in SLIDING DOORS. Issues of
fate and happenstance are the subjects of a lightly
science-fictional romantic comedy. Our present
seems to split into two alternate futures just when
Helen is having a bad day. We follow her life in
both of two parallel story lines. We see what
things are different and which are the same as in
both worlds she works out the kinks in her love
life. Gwyneth Paltrow is charming in a generally
cleverly written script. Rating: 7 (0 to 10), +2
(-4 to +4)
Some of the most interesting science fiction films have no special effects at all. SLIDING DOORS is a new film much in the mold of the 1971 film QUEST FOR LOVE. Each tells a pair of love stories in parallel timelines that have split off from each other. In SLIDING DOORS we cut from one story to the other seeing how things progress for our character in each of the two possible futures. Some things happen quite differently, some are mysteriously similar.
Helen (Gwyneth Paltrow) is already not having a good day. She has just lost a nice job at a London public relations firm. She is headed back to her apartment where, unbeknownst to her, boy friend Gerry (John Lynch) is two-timing her (no pun intended). He is shagging with his old girl friend Lydia (Jeanne Tripplehorn). As Helen is heading down the stairs to the Underground, time mysteriously splits. From this point on, we cut back and forth between the two worlds following the lives of Helen1 in one world and Helen2 in the other. Helen1 is delayed ever-so-slightly on the stairs and gets to her platform just in time to have the train sliding doors slam in her face with her on the wrong side. Helen2, who was not delayed on the stairs, gets to the train a moment sooner, makes the train, and finds a seat next to the charming James (John Hannah). Helen1 is forced to look for a cab and on the way is mugged. She must spend a few hours in hospital. Helen2, not delayed, returns to the flat to find Gerry2 in bed with Lydia2. Deciding that she needs an entirely new life, Helen2 leaves Gerry2 and goes to live with her best friend. Helen1 is released from the hospital and returns home to find some evidence that Gerry1 is cheating on her, but is in no mood to chase it down. Each Helen has to find a new living now. Helen1 puts her hair in braids and takes a job as a waitress. Helen2 starts wearing her hair blond and short and sets up her own public relations firm. After two or three chance encounters with James2, Helen2 decides to start dating him, in spite of not trusting him after her former relationship. Gerry2 takes up with Lydia2 again but wants to win Helen2 back and Lydia2 is just as determined to stand in the way. Meanwhile Helen1 becomes more and more suspicious that Gerry1 is cheating on her.
This is not an easy concept to get across to the audience. It would just not be very subtle to put a placard in front of the audience saying "time is splitting and we are following two futures for Helen." At one time it might have been handled, as it was in QUEST FOR LOVE, with a wise old scientist popping up to explain that time has taken two paths and Helen is in each world living different lives. But either would have been crude and the accent here is not on the science but on just exploring two possible futures for the same modern woman. And unfortunately just when the concept would have been most confusing for the audience, just after the split has taken place, the two lives are the most similar. The viewer probably does not realize there is a Gerry1 and a Gerry2 and wonders why Gerry1 does not remember the falling-out that Gerry2 had with Helen2. However as Helen1's appearance and life diverges from that of Helen2 it becomes somewhat clearer
As everyone is aware, Paltrow is an actress who is pleasant to look at but who rarely get challenging roles. This is by far her best acting, as she plays two women growing and changing in different ways from the same beginning. Unfortunately, there is not much original required in either of her roles. Betrayed lovers have been done all too frequently on the screen. John Hannah is likable on the screen, John Lynch seems a little too befuddled to be leading a double life. Neither does much extraordinary. This film offers an interesting idea but little beyond the novelty of the two parallel paths. Neither story by itself is of sufficient interest that anyone would pay to see it in a theater. Even if both stories were told consecutively one after the other they would be two very bland stories. Only a little obvious contrivance gives the film a tiny amount of dramatic tension toward the end of each story. It is the editing together and simultaneous telling that give the film its ginger. That allows the viewer to compare two futures and is what makes the exercise worth seeing.
I rate SLIDING DOORS a 7 on the 0 to 10 scale and a +2 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
mleeper@lucent.com
Copyright 1998 Mark R. Leeper
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