Sliding Doors

A woman gets fired from her job and runs off to take the London underground. At this point, the movie separates into two parallel stories. The first story shows us the life of said woman were she to have caught the subway, i.e. she gets home in time to catch her boyfriend shagging another woman. The second story shows us the consequences, were she to have missed the subway, i.e. she doesn’t catch her boyfriend cheating. The film juggles both stories over time, and clearly nods its head to fate.

Unique concept and plot execution, this movie offers many good points, including solid acting, a painfully effective poppy soundtrack, humor, romance, and many insights into the minds of women and the men who cheat on them. With a touch of anti-maleness, this film is extremely fine is presenting the male of the species in all of his immorality, and touching upon many of the clues that women should look for, were they to suspect their loved one of mowing another’s lawn. Mrs. JoBlo actually felt the need to stop this film on more than one occasion, in order to carefully dissect yours truly in respect to feelings felt in relation to some of the slimier actions perpetrated by the aforementioned men. I passed :). And that’s the kind of thing that makes this movie so different from all your other romantic ditties. This one will have you thinking about the consequences of many of the smaller events in your life, the role that fate has to play in your daily rumblings, and your comparative thoughts versus some of the actions of the players in this film.

Paltrow is charming in her double role, and finally seems to have passed over her “pouting for emotion” acting stage. But over and above her, the scene stealer in this pleasant flick has to be the man who swept many away as the gay character in another wonderful British romance, called FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL (8/10), John Hannah. He’s enchanting in all of his scenes, and manages to lure you into his character and persona, despite his obvious lack of physical beauty. His gig alone is reason to check this piece out. The other guy on the other hand, John Lynch, is so-so in his part, and makes you wonder why a beauty like Gwyneth would ever even look twice at him. Jeanne Tripplehorn’s character is also laughably one-dimensional, and seems to be there solely as a necessary evil in the plot. Having said that, the script is admirably crafted and fun to discover, with a surprise ending, which ultimately, may not be that much of surprise after all. I did lose a little track of some past events from one story to the other later on this film, but all in all, this film managed to win me over with its unique story-telling, wonderful and charming acting, and entertaining plot points. Warm up those nachos and get in those PJ’s, cause you and your lover are about to have a fun time!

(c) 2021 Berge Garabedian