Sliding Doors (1998)

reviewed by
Jamie Peck


SLIDING DOORS Reviewed by Jamie Peck


Rating: ** (out of ****) Miramax/Paramount / 1:39 / 1998 / PG-13 (language, sexual content) Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow; John Hannah; John Lynch; Jeanne Tripplehorn; Zara Turner Director: Peter Howitt Screenplay: Peter Howitt
Even the slightest kink in a person's daily routine can alter their entire existence, or so Gwyneth Paltrow learns from the mystical twists of "Sliding Doors." Her Helen, a harried London public relations executive, lives out two wildly different lives, both of which stem from whether or not she makes it onto a subway train one morning after getting fired. In Branch A, she does, arrives home unexpectedly and surprises her boyfriend ("Moll Flanders"' John Lynch) in the sack with his pouty mistress ("Basic Instinct"'s Jeanne Tripplehorn); in Branch B, she doesn't, and continues to live with the creep whilst he carries on the tryst behind her back.

Great gimmick, mundane movie. Following this sensational intro, both of "Sliding Doors"' story tangents settle into the tedious complications and contrived crises that hamper so many contemporary romantic comedies; in fact, remove the delectable set-up and the fine acting of Paltrow and Scotsman John Hannah ("Four Weddings and a Funeral"), as a potential paramour for the newly-unattached Helen of Branch A, and this film has practically nothing. True to stints in past flicks, Paltrow shines brightly, especially here, while playing opposite the equally charming Hannah. Too bad the screenplay fails to give her an alter-ego who engages on pretty much any level.

Still, it could be worse - it could be Branch B, which teams the already dull Helen with Lynch's scummy squeeze and Tripplehorn's just-as-scummy other woman. There's really nothing wrong with either Lynch or Tripplehorn's performances, parse - you get the feeling they're doing what they've been instructed by writer/director Peter Howitt - but when a movie like this doesn't even conjure up truly hissable antagonists, trouble can't be far. And as annoying as it is, Lynch's neurotic hem-hawing probably resides among the more lively elements of "Sliding Doors," if only because it's a near-perfect aping of Woody Allen - were Allen British and 30 years younger, of course.

Let's at least give Howitt credit for keeping his dual tales straight and untangled, even as they overlap from one tedious scene to the next. His casting of the lovely always Paltrow is a definite asset - and permitting her use of the adorable Cockney accent she flexed in "Emma" is also a pro - but one wonders if such an interesting premise had to be squandered in service of such a uninteresting plot-and-character combo. By the time "Sliding Doors" reaches a weird conclusion that attempts to tie the two Helens' fates together, audiences will presumably examine their own Branch As and Bs, but maybe only in the sense of where the past two hours could have taken them.


© 1998 Jamie Peck E-mail: jpeck1@gl.umbc.edu Visit The Reel Deal Online: http://www.gl.umbc.edu/~jpeck1/ "... When several hundred of [the roaches] crawled across Joe's face, I for one was happy to be sitting in the back row, lest a fellow moviegoer be moved to hurl." -Roger Ebert on "Joe's Apartment"


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