SNMR 5.24: "Sliding Doors"

Tonight's SNMR feature is "Sliding Doors" (1998, PG-13, 99 minutes), starring Gwyneth Paltrow, John Hannah, John Lynch, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Zara Turner, Douglas McFerran and Paul Brightwell. The film was directed by Peter Howitt.

PLOT SUMMARY: What happens in a split second that can change the course of someone's life? PR whiz Helen Quilley (Paltrow) gets fired from her job then barely misses the tube, nearly gets mugged and comes home to find her wanker boyfriend (Lynch) in the sack with another woman (Tripplehorn). PR whiz Helen Quilley gets fired from her job, then barely catches the tube, meets and falls in love with a nice guy (Hannah), comes home and barely misses her scumbag boyfriend in bed with another woman. Helen's life goes two separate ways simultaneously for a while and then come crashing back together at the end.

MY OPINION: This is a cleverly written story which director Peter Howitt handles brilliantly, intertwining the two versions of Helen's life seamlessly, where in places you can only tell the difference in the two stories is by lead Gwyneth Paltrow's hair style.

Paltrow is very good and once again masters a convincing British accent. This is clearly John Hannah's best film role. John Lynch is annoying but good as the cheating boyfriend. The one weak link in this film is Lydia, Jeanne Tripplehorn's character. Any actress could have played her part and probably have done it better.

The film, now ten years old, has a good run time of 99 minutes. If ever they come out with a re-release of this movie on DVD, I'd consider buying it if it came with some cast interviews, deleted scenes and other goodies that I like. The version out now has none of that extra stuff. I like this movie a lot and recommend it. Worthwhile fluff, this. Go rent it.

***½ out of *****