| Sliding Doors | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster |
|
| Directed by | Peter Howitt |
| Produced by | Sydney Pollack Philippa Braithwaite |
| Written by | Peter Howitt |
| Starring | Gwyneth Paltrow John Hannah |
| Music by | David Hirschfelder |
| Cinematography | Remi Adefarasin |
| Editing by | John Smith |
| Studio | Miramax Films Intermedia Mirage Enterprises |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | April 24, 1998 (US) May 1, 1998 (UK) |
| Running time | 99 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $6 million[1] |
| Box office | £12,112,392 (UK) $11,841,544 (USA) [1] |
Sliding Doors is a 1998 British-American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Peter Howitt and starring Gwyneth Paltrow and John Hannah, and featured John Lynch, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Virginia McKenna. The music was composed by David Hirschfelder. The film has elements of alternate history, though on a minor level, affecting only the personal lives of the (fictional) characters and not the world at large.
Contents |
The film follows Helen Quilley (Gwyneth Paltrow), who has just been fired from her public relations job. The plot splits into two parallel universes, based on the two paths her life could take depending on whether she catches a London Underground train or not. In the timeline in which she makes the train, she meets James (John Hannah) on the underground and they strike up a conversation. She gets home in time to catch her boyfriend, Gerry (John Lynch), in bed with his ex-girlfriend, Lydia (Jeanne Tripplehorn); she dumps him and moves in with her friend, Anna (Zara Turner). James continues to serendipitously pop into Helen's life, cheering her up and encouraging her to start her own public relations firm. She and James fall in love despite Helen's reservations about beginning another relationship so soon after her ugly breakup with Gerry. Eventually, Helen discovers she's pregnant, believing it is with James' child, and goes to see him at his office. She is stunned to learn from James' secretary that he is married. Upset, she disappears. James finds her on a bridge and explains that he was married but is now separated and planning to divorce. He and his soon-to-be-ex-wife maintain a cordial relationship for the sake of his sick mother. After she and James declare their love for another, Helen walks out into the road and is hit by a car.
In the timeline in which she misses the train, she then hails a taxi instead, but a man tries to snatch her handbag. Helen hits her head in the scuffle and goes to hospital. She arrives home late, giving Lydia time to leave. Helen carries on with her life oblivious of Gerry's infidelity, and works part-time jobs to pay bills. Gerry conceals his infidelity and juggles the two women in his life; Lydia even interacts with Helen on several occasions. Helen has a number of conflicts with Gerry, then discovers she's pregnant with his baby, but delays telling him, instead telling him that she has a job interview with an international PR firm. Thinking Helen is at the interview, Gerry sees Lydia, who is also pregnant with his child. While there, the doorbell rings and Lydia tells Gerry to answer it. Helen is there, and is stunned when Lydia tells her she can't do the interview because she's "deciding whether or not to keep your boyfriend's baby." Helen runs and falls down Lydia's staircase.
In both timelines, Helen goes to hospital after her accident and loses her baby. In the timeline in which she caught the train, she dies in the arms of her newfound love. In the timeline in which she didn't, she recovers and tells Gerry to leave for good. Before waking up, she sees flashes of the other Helen's life.
In the final scene (now taking place solely in the "missed the train" universe), James is leaving the hospital after visiting his mother, and Helen is leaving after ending her relationship with Gerry. Helen drops an earring in the elevator and it is picked up by James. This mirrors the start of the film, where James picks up Helen's earring on the elevator after Helen is fired from her job. Before the doors close, James tells Helen to cheer up, and repeats his line, "You know what the Monty Python boys say..." Helen (who, in the beginning of the film, assumed the rejoinder to be "always look on the bright side of life.") says, "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition." She and James stare at one another, each surprised by her response. The doors close and the audience is left to wonder.
The scenes on the London Underground were filmed at Waterloo station on the Waterloo & City Line and at Fulham Broadway tube station on the District Line. The scenes by the river were filmed next to Hammersmith Bridge and in the Blue Anchor pub in Hammersmith. The bridge featured is Albert Bridge between Battersea and Chelsea. The late-night scene when Paltrow and Hannah walk down the street was filmed on Primrose Gardens (formerly Stanley Gardens) in Belsize Park. The final hospital scene where Helen and James meet in the lift was filmed at The Chelsea and Westminster Hospital on the Fulham Road.
British singer Dido's song "Thank You" made its appearance on the soundtrack, becoming a hit three years later. It was a commercial for this movie featuring "Thank You" as background music that inspired rapper Eminem to use Dido's voice for his song, "Stan".
This soundtrack is notable as the last from a Paramount film to be released by MCA Records, which, as successor to Paramount's former record division, continued to release soundtracks for some Paramount films starting in 1979.
The film opened at the box office with $834,817 on #17 during its first weekend but increased by 96.5% to $1,640,438 on its second weekend. It ended up with a total gross in the United States of $11,841,544.[2] It also saw success in the United Kingdom with a total box office gross in excess of £12 million [1]. The films total world takings totaled over $58 million [2].
Rotten Tomatoes rated the film 63% "fresh", based on 48 reviews, with a synopsis saying that "[d]espite the gimmicky feel of the split narratives, the movie is watch-able due to the winning performances by the cast".[3] Metacritic described reaction as "mixed or average", with a score of 59% favourable, based on 23 reviews.[4] Time Out described the film as "essentially a romantic comedy with a nifty gimmick".[5] Film director Agnieszka Holland considers the film to be a botched copy of the 1981 Polish film Blind Chance with all the "philosophical depths and stylistic subtleties stripped away".[6]
|
|||||