Sliding Doors Review
by "Nathaniel R. Atcheson" (nate AT pyramid DOT net)May 13th, 1998
Sliding Doors (1998)
Director: Peter Howitt
Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, John Hannah, John Lynch, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Zara Turner
Screenplay: Peter Howitt
Producers: Philippa Braithwaite, William Horberg
Runtime: 99 min.
US Distribution: Miramax
Rated R: sex, language
By Nathaniel R. Atcheson ([email protected])
Sliding Doors is a film that wants to be deep and profound, and often it is. Writer/director Peter Howitt observes the life of a woman named Helen (Gwyneth Paltrow), and how it simultaneously progresses on two different paths. This is, of course, a gimmick, but it's a reasonably well-developed gimmick in this case. The premise, however, is stamped onto the romantic comedy formula, and the result is a film that is thought-provoking at times and irritatingly coy at others. Paltrow is fantastic in the main role, but the very-standard romantic comedy antics often forced my attention away from the film.
When the story introduces us to Helen, she has just been fired from her job. In the first scenario, she goes home on the subway and finds her boyfriend Gerry (John Lynch) having athletic sex with his mistress (Jeanne Tripplehorn). She walks out on him and essentially starts a new life, which entails meeting James (John Hannah), and getting a new haircut. In the second scenario, she misses the subway, gets mugged, and then returns home just in time to have missed Gerry's mistress; she continues on her life and Gerry continues to lie to her.
Howitt develops both scenarios simultaneously, cutting back and forth throughout the film. At first, I thought this was a bad idea, but it proves useful by the end of the film: many of the things that happen to Helen happen to both of her counterparts simultaneously, and it's interesting to see the way their lives are parallel. This is where the interesting aspects of the film come in, for Howitt's ideas of fate and destiny are executed in such a manner that you might find yourself adopting some of the theories put forth in the film.
There have been many other films that deal with destiny and similar themes. Krzysztof Kieslowski's Three Colors trilogy all deal effectively with the ideas, but his The Double Life of Veronique is devoted entirely to them. I like that film more than this one because it's about two women (both played by the luminous Irene Jacob) who live parallel lives. Sliding Doors, although it is interesting, is little more than a thought-provoking fairy tale: it's not realistic in the sense that both Helens are actually alive at the same time (though I imagine someone could make a case that they are).
I wouldn't mind so much if Howitt's script had lived up to its premise. To begin, the characters are adequately interesting, but most of them are intensely irritating. Paltrow is wonderful (her British inflection is absolutely perfect), and has a demanding presence that I think will keep her in the industry for a long time. Lynch, on the other hand, has been saddled with a character so spineless and annoying that I simply could not stand to watch him. Hannah is also frustratingly manic and jittery, but his character calls for it. Tripplehorn is attractive and demands attention, but she overacts here and often times her character is so ridiculously mean that I couldn't believe it.
The situations Howitt provides are standard romantic comedy fare. The film wants to be realistic, but there are scenes that are laughable and simply unrealistic: when Gerry pulls the blinds to find his mistress standing at the window, he gasps loudly and shuts the blinds. Helen turns around to see what he did, and he covers it up with an unconvincing lie. And one of the many climaxes features people pouring out their hearts to one another in the middle of a rain storm at night. Sometimes scenes like these work, but all of the ones in this film feel suspiciously present to evoke emotions that the film doesn't need to make it's point. Sliding Doors is certainly watchable, but Howitt should have realized that a romantic comedy with an interesting gimmick is still just a romantic comedy.
**1/2 out of ****
(6/10, C+)
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