Have an Account?
| Register Now
Movie Poster
View Photo Gallery

Remove ads with our VIP Service Facebook logoTwitter logo
Sliding Doors
A young woman's love life and career both hinge, unkown to her, on whether or not she catches a morning train back to her apartment. Two wholly different universes unfold about alternate realities,...  View more >

Starring Gwyneth Paltrow, John Lynch, John Hannah...  View more >

Add Movie to Favorites

Seen It?

How would you rate this movie?
[--- See Now! ---] [--- Good ---] [--- Wait for Rental ---] [--- Stay Away! ---]

Reviews Summary


Please Note: Reader Reviews are submitted by the readers of The BigScreen Cinema Guide and represent their own personal opinions regarding this movie, and do not represent the views of The BigScreen Cinema Guide, or any of its associated entities.

[--- See Now! ---]by  
Jan 25, 2000
The recipe for how to make the world a happier place: all you "Godzilla" ticket holders, drop em and go see "Sliding Doors" instead. Why? Because instead of getting zero quality effects, bad acting and boring action, you get a well written, romantic comedy which actually cares about the characters on screen.

The film brings up the subject: What if? Take Helen's (Gwenyth Paltrow) situation: after getting fired from work, she rushes to catch a leaving commuter. In the first cut, she misses the train, and then the film nicely rewinds (no grand special effects, no flashy editing, just a nice, pleasureable rewind) to another cut, where she just barely makes it. Although this movie is a romantic comedy; this one scene really makes you think; no matter what you do in life, your path of existence can change by just a slight occurance.

"Sliding Doors" is bascially two stories woven into one. We follow Helen as the two lifes unfold. In the one where she misses the train, she rushes out to the street, gets attacked on the street, then proceeds home, where she continues to support her writing block husband (John Lynch), unbeknownst to Helen that he just shagged another woman (Jeanne Tripplehorn).

The other story follows Helen catching the train, which makes her stumble home to find her husband sleeping with that woman. Helen leaves, only to meet up with a charming individual (John Hannah) who before met her on an elevator when she dropped her earring and she picked it up.

Both stories are intercut, instead of being told one at a time. I was very surprised by how well the intercutting worked in "Sliding Doors"; director Peter Howitt, who also wrote the screenplay, must have been mind-numbed by putting this surprisingly smart and delightful film together.

Although Paltrow has been in about 300 movies in the past year (there hasn’t come a time yet when I have looked in the paper and NOT seen a Paltrow film), this one is her best. She's always very smart and very cool in her performance; its the one I've been waiting for. I always knew that Ms. Paltrow was a good actress, she was never given the right material. Until now. The best player next to Paltrow is Hannah, whose thick accent takes a few minutes getting used to, but when you do, he is very funny.

“Sliding Doors” is the best romantic comedy I have seen since “Tin Cup”. You find yourself laughing at everything that is sweet, you care about these people, well, at least the ones that aren’t cheating, and you really worry about what the outcome will be for both the situations. Have I gotten you to drop your “Godzilla” tickets yet?

Grade: A

Tech Review:

Picture: 5 A knockout picture. Colors and contrast are excellent, black level is surprisingly good. This is Miramax’s best looking picture yet, an honest surprise.

Sound: 2.5 I watched the movie in a mono theater, yet the only surrounds I would believe happen in this movie would be the music. The film is mixed in Dolby Digital only (?); the movie should also have a dts mix.

Photography: 4.5 Like the surprising picture, Howitt does a great job in framing a wide 1.85:1 palette. Every shot is well framed, and it holds the action great.

Length: 98 minutes. Miramax Films / Paramount. jwhyte2@hotmail.com ICQ- 4339199

Jul 21, 2003
A well-done film that let's you explore "what-if" for a couple of possible scenarios surrounding one point in time where fate takes a turn depending on what happens in that instant.

Gwyneth Paltrow nails this performance, which is important since she is in almost every scene, and basically plays two different versions of the same woman.
Dec 5, 2005
An unsual movie that is broken in four parts to see what happened if Gwyneth missed the train and we see the possiblties in this film. \"Sliding Doors\" is the most unusual movie that I have ever seen. It\'s different format will surprise you.

Looking for more opinions?

Check out our Featured Movie Reviews for Sliding Doors.




New Movies - Box Office - Favorite Movies - All Movies
Coming Soon - Search



Home - About Us - Feedback
News Headlines - Theaters - Movies - Reader Reviews - Movie Links
Your Account - VIP Service

The BigScreen Cinema Guide is a service of SVJ Designs LLC. All graphics, layout, and structure of this service (unless otherwise specified) are Copyright © 1995-2024, SVJ Designs. The BigScreen Cinema Guide is a trademark of SVJ Designs. All rights reserved.

'ACADEMY AWARDS®' and 'OSCAR®' are the registered trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Find Us on Facebook
Find Us on Instagram