Sliding Doors

Name: Sliding Doors
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Romance
Released: April 24, 1998
Duration: 99 min
Rating: 59
Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeanne Tripplehorn, John Hannah, John Lynch

1998

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally unfavorable reviews based on 113 Ratings

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2.7

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2.7	Your Score
2.7	User Score Generally unfavorable reviews based on 113 Ratings

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Sliding Doors

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Movie Details & Credits

Miramax Films | Release Date: April 24, 1998 | R

Starring: Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeanne Tripplehorn, John Hannah, John Lynch

Summary: Parallel story lines explore the concept of fate and how simple moments have the ability to change our lives.

Director: Peter Howitt

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy, Romance

Rating: R

Runtime: 99 min

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Critic Reviews

Dallas Observer Jean Oppenheimer

So inventive, confident, and accomplished is the production that it's a shock to learn Sliding Doors is the work of a first-time director-screenwriter. Read full review

Michael O'Sullivan

This is the lightest, brightest and tightest film confection to come down the date pike in quite some time. Read full review

Troy Patterson

The story is hackneyed, and the gimmick only doubles the dullardry. Read full review

Sarah Kerr

Paltrow is as radiant as ever, but she keeps picking parts that focus on technical skills like accents -- she has yet to perform the real star's trick of being herself, and inviting the audience to identify. Read full review

Stephen Holden

Once the movie throws in a jolting, late-in-the-gameplot twist that could have been borrowed from "City of Angels," it never regains its balance. Read full review

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Unfortunately, once the freshness of the concept wears off, the same premise starts to feel mechanical and willful. Read full review

David Sterritt

The gimmick behind the screenplay is clever, but the filmmakers don't rise to the challenge they've set themselves, merely spinning two unimaginative stories for the price of one. Read full review

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User Reviews

Jems

Sep 10, 2010

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This has to be one of the best films I have ever seen in my life. I loved the clever plot of what would have happened if she had got on the train and what would have happened if she hadn't. The character Helen played by 'Gwyneth Paltrow' was very likeable and I really felt for her when she got fired from her job and then walks in on her husband having sex with another woman. I really sympathised with her the whole way through the film and I felt that she did her character justice. 'John Hannah' who plays James displays some great acting here and is a very likeable character. It is obvious that 'John Hannah is suited for romantic comedies and this is shown here. Even the sub characters such as Helen's friend Zara Turner really shows some great acting here. Everything about this film is fabulous - the plot, the characters, the effects and the actors. Overall I'm giving this a ten because it has no faults whatsoever.… Expand

1 of 33 users found this helpful132

moviemonger

Feb 1, 2011

So true to life....one little moment in time changes a lifetime. I have never seen a movie which delivers such an interesting way to view life. One struggle may be the split screen viewing.

1 of 30 users found this helpful129

Andys_Reviews

Oct 14, 2012

Very well made with a nice witty script and a decent pace so it doesn

0 of 29 users found this helpful029

DawdlingPoet

Nov 25, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This movie is watchable enough, it features a pretty decent cast and the concept behind the story is one that many people will likely find intriguing. Helen is a pretty likeable character, though I suppose at times she kept her feelings to herself and may seem a little distant perhaps but then as we learn about whats going on and what she's been through, that seems fair enough and she does come across as a fairly vulnerable character, though she has a good friend that looks out for her. The men in Helens life are, I suppose, portrayed as a bit stupid and/or arrogant and egotistical in one way or another, though Helen may have taken things the wrong way and mis-read the situation as far as one character is concerned (mind you as viewers we may take that with a grain of salt depending on whether we believe what he says when trying to convince her otherwise later on), so yes this is a movie which will likely appeal alot more to women than men. I think women, at least some women, can become quite fascinated with the concepts of fate and destiny and will at one point in their life or another, question 'what if?' like 'what if I hadn't gone in to work that day? I wouldn't have bumped into such and such' or 'what if I hadn't bought that magazine - I wouldn't have entered the competition and won a lifechanging holiday' things like that. There could be multiple times in a persons life where a series of events all hines on whether you do something that seems so insignificant that you'd have no idea ultimately how important it is and thats what this movie is all about. I suppose in a way it could be comforting to us women, we can tell ourselves every day that perhaps todays commute into work or into town/the city will spark off a series of events that will lead to things improving for the better but there again, thats not to say that Helen has a totally smooth ride on either of the two different outcomes that we're shown, no there are some sad moments in both of the outcomes, indeed I felt really sad for Helen at one point when things took a particularly bad turn for the worse, which shows that the characterisation is pretty good, otherwise I might not have bothered but thinking about it, by then I must have been quite absorbed in the movie.

I don't think that this is a particularly memorable movie, its perhaps a bit slow and basic for some but for a 'chick flick' its not too bad - it has an interesting concept and the cast is pretty good, though for me its one to catch on TV rather than pay much for. Of course its hardly a new movie now, having been released in 1998 but its one that most people will have heard of in passing and its been shown on TV multiple times. To be honest, I struggle to think of much to say about this movie really, its not so much bad as its just another fairly generic 'chick flick' and I don't tend to be so interested in those but having heard of it before and seeing it was going to be shown during the recent holidays, I decided to give it a go and recorded it and I figured I might as well try reviewing it - I've seen a few others but I haven't reviewed them as I don't think of them as being movies that are easy to review. I would say that the cast are good and the story is interesting which makes it watchable, there are some sad scenes and some nicer ones, ultimately, to me, its a fairly average 'chick flick' which is worth catching on TV or renting if you've never seen it but I wouldn't really say its worth spending much, if any, money on it per se, as to me it wasn't overly memorable.

If your a big fan of this genre then surely you will have already seen this movie by now, so I suppose others that haven't seen it will be like me, not necessarily big fans of 'rom coms' (romantic comedies)/'chick flicks' (that term does get a bit annoying too) and all I can say is that I thought it was diverting - it wasn't the most exciting or shocking movie I've seen, there isn't much action but a bit of drama and mainly romance. The main character, Helen, is well portrayed and the cast generally is pretty good plus the story is one that will likely appeal to women and so in that regards, yes its worth watching but I'm not sure that I would say its worth paying much, if anything, for to rent or keep as I don't feel its that memorable a movie. Other people may analyse it alot more than I did and they may like to replay it to double check details I suppose but I just watched it to pass the time and found it to be fairly diverting, thats about it - I'd imagine there are other equally watchable movies of its type, I just can't quite get myself to specifically recommend this one, I think, so its up to you whether you feel you should give it a watch, thats if you've not seen it already anyway.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

wrightm1

Jul 1, 2013

Romance meets The Twilight Zone in this parallel universe romance.

I went in knowing nothing about the film, apart from that it had some kind of gimmick. And I do think that gimmick is a good word to describe the twist in this particular story, as the film did feel drawn out, and I thinkRomance meets The Twilight Zone in this parallel universe romance.

I went in knowing nothing about the film, apart from that it had some kind of gimmick. And I do think that gimmick is a good word to describe the twist in this particular story, as the film did feel drawn out, and I think would have worked better as a short.

But it's not a short. And it works pretty well.

Paltrow does a reasonable British accent, and gives two good performances of the same character- so really she gives a general good performance. The film works, although it is a little contrived, and nears the edge of soap opera a couple of times, but it is a fine romance that should please the romantics of the world.

It definitely starts to feel a little repetitive after a while, and you start to just follow one story, and the problem I had was the story that I was more compelled with didn't end the way I wanted to etc. Romance.

The perfect comparison piece to this is Cloud Atlas as it has the same ideas in some respects, with the same characters- kind of, in different stories, but I believe Cloud Atlas worked as the stories were all different, while with this, it is the same story in a different structure, with the same characters.

So the film is always doomed to repetition.… Expand

2 of 28 users found this helpful226

Daniel2651

Feb 10, 2014

Have you ever been walking home one night and thought that your life might be totally different if you walked the long way home instead of taking the short cut? If your answer to this question is yes then you should definitely watch Sliding Doors which is real treat for people who likeHave you ever been walking home one night and thought that your life might be totally different if you walked the long way home instead of taking the short cut? If your answer to this question is yes then you should definitely watch Sliding Doors which is real treat for people who like Romantic film and Romantic Comedies. Sliding Doors shows how different your life could really be if you just walked a different way home. It shows it by telling you how different Helen’s (Gwyneth Paltrow) if she had have caught the train to how different her life is when she doesn’t catch the train. The film draws you in at the beginning when Helen tells a very funny joke about where she works. This draws you in because it introduces the theme of comedy which helps the film appeal to a wider audience.
The film also draws you in at the beginning by showing you how different the two lives really are. It shows this when, in the life were Helen catches the train home and gets home just in time to catch her boyfriend Gerry (John Lynch) in bed with another woman called Lydia (Jeanne Tripplehorn.) But in the life were Helen doesn’t catch the train home she arrives home just after Lydia has left and Gerry has a lucky escape. This draws you in because it emphasises just how different your life can be if you make a very small change.
As well as comedy the film is also good because some of the scenes are very well done. This is particularly true in a scene where there is a boat race. In this scene you see both lives at the same time which again shows just how different they really are. The film also has some very good actors in it. One of them being Gerry’s friend Russell (Douglas McFerran) who plays a very good character in the film. Russell is a very good character because Gerry talks to him quite a bit and this helps the viewer to understand what kind of a character Gerry is and how he feels about having an affair with Helen. But the film isn’t good in every way because it is supposed a romantic comedy and I think that a romantic comedy should have an equal amount of romance and comedy. But I think this film has more romance in it which is especially true towards the end of the film. This amount of romance doesn’t work well for the end of the film which I thought was a bit too upsetting and I would have preferred a happier ending. On the other hand there are some good things about the ending, for example it does leave the door open for a sequel. But overall the film is quite good and very funny in some bits and I would rate 6/10 and recommend it to anyone who likes either romantic films or romantic comedies.… Expand

3 of 27 users found this helpful324

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91	#91 Best Movie of 1998
75	#75 Most Discussed Movie of 1998
65	#65 Most Shared Movie of 1998