Admittedly, Peter Howitt's debut film in 'Sliding Doors' would have showed a lot of promise of cosmic proportions- however, 'Johnny English'? Regardless, his debut film is a low-key dual story about fate and parallel dimensions is vastly charming with one strong female lead in Gwenyth Paltow (sporting two different haircuts so the viewer can spot the difference), as well as two strong supporting performances from the likable and funny John Hannah, as the surprising likable John Lynch as the philandering, indecisive guilt-ridden novelist. Some of the most hilarious scenes are between Lynch's character in Gerry telling his boozy pal about the turn of events, whilst his pal laughs his butt off at him.
Howitt's manages to give each story an equal amount of time, and I believe the viewer is invested in both outcomes. We all wonder about the "what ifs", and it usually relates to relationships. There is a universal theme of fate in this film that I quite liked, even if I don't quite believe in it. The main problem with the dual stories; is that, one of them gets a hopeful ending, while the other closes on sadder note- as if to suggest that the two characters weren't meant to meet prior to the ending. There are nice little touches throughout the movie's dual realities to show that similar things do happen in sequence. For instance, Helen is walking by the lake with her friend, obsessed by a brandy glass whilst James in canoeing in the background in one story, while in the other, Helen is cheering for James' as he canoes. The film clever plants that pathways can cross more than once!
I think 'Sliding Doors' is an underrated little film, and while it certainly lacks in ending one of the stories, it has great performances from Paltrow, Hannah and Lynch and a very good script- underlining the merits of relationships and chance plays a part in changing the circumstances of it. I liked the fact Gerry was given sufficient depth in both versions of his tale, and he was quite comedic in hiding his affairs. All in all, 'Sliding Doors' handles it's themes of fate admirably for one it's twins, and handles it better than 'The Lake House'. Definitely worth seeing! Even twice!
A solidly high ***½ out of *****!
Howitt's manages to give each story an equal amount of time, and I believe the viewer is invested in both outcomes. We all wonder about the "what ifs", and it usually relates to relationships. There is a universal theme of fate in this film that I quite liked, even if I don't quite believe in it. The main problem with the dual stories; is that, one of them gets a hopeful ending, while the other closes on sadder note- as if to suggest that the two characters weren't meant to meet prior to the ending. There are nice little touches throughout the movie's dual realities to show that similar things do happen in sequence. For instance, Helen is walking by the lake with her friend, obsessed by a brandy glass whilst James in canoeing in the background in one story, while in the other, Helen is cheering for James' as he canoes. The film clever plants that pathways can cross more than once!
I think 'Sliding Doors' is an underrated little film, and while it certainly lacks in ending one of the stories, it has great performances from Paltrow, Hannah and Lynch and a very good script- underlining the merits of relationships and chance plays a part in changing the circumstances of it. I liked the fact Gerry was given sufficient depth in both versions of his tale, and he was quite comedic in hiding his affairs. All in all, 'Sliding Doors' handles it's themes of fate admirably for one it's twins, and handles it better than 'The Lake House'. Definitely worth seeing! Even twice!
A solidly high ***½ out of *****!