Helen Quilley:I-I'm not -- I'm not very good at -- at, you know... James Hammerton:Constructing sentences?
After a while, the romantic comedy genre becomes about the closest thing to a sitcom as you can get. Practically every variation of the boy loves girl plot has been exhausted, and yet moviegoers keep coming back for more. A generic romantic plot is one of the surest things you can bank on, so it certainly keeps one on the lookout for that rare example that stands apart from all the others.
Sliding Doors may in fact be one of these examples. It is sweet without being annoying, and that can be a very fine line to tread in romantic comedies. Most of its success is thanks to a seemingly effortless performance by Gwyneth Paltrow in two separate roles, but as the same character. Don't worry -- it sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is. Writer/director Peter Howitt keeps the two plots clearly separated so there is very little overlapping or potential for confusion.
The unconventional story begins when Helen (Paltrow), who has recently been fired from her job, accidentally misses the subway one morning. Or has she? Thanks to a magical incident just before the subway entrance, we see what could have happened if, on the one hand, Helen had caught the subway, or if, on the other hand, she had missed it and had to make alternate travel arrangements. The two stories unfold in a parallel fashion, where one Helen meets and falls in love with a new man (John Hannah as the charming James), and the other stays with her philandering husband Gerry (John Lynch) because she doesn't suspecting he is cheating on her with the conniving Lydia (Jeanne Tripplehorn).
For the most part, the actors in Sliding Doors bring a lot of life to the material. Paltrow is superb, Hannah's thick accent keeps us interested, and a small part by Douglas McFerran that features a running gag brings a laugh each time we see him. This isn't rocket science though, and its charm is more in its chemistry between the performers than the machinations of the plot. Sliding Doors offers an interesting, comical and romantic take on the old question of what might happen if one could only have the chance to do something in one's life differently. A fine flick for a rainy afternoon.
