Sliding Doors

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Sliding Doors ★★ ½ 1997 (R)

The sliding doors are those of a London subway train. If Helen (Paltrow) makes it through before they close, her life (and loves) go one way. If she's left on the platform, they go another, and the audience is let in on both options. She'll either dump or stick with cheating boyfriend Gerry (Lynch), who has been sleeping with ultra-bitchy ex-girlfriend Lydia (Tripplehorn). And she will either strike up a relationship with a charming stranger (Hannah) on the train and become fabulously successful, or end up slinging hash in a diner while pregnant with her scumbag boyfriend's baby. The concept and story of the dual possibilities is pulled off well, although it is a bit too cute at times. Will you like it? Depends on if it's already been rented when you're at the video store. If it's out, be careful what you pick, because apparently the small stuff really does matter. 98m/C VHS, DVD . Gwyneth Paltrow, John Lynch, John Hannah, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Virginia McKenna, Zara Turner, Douglas McFerran, Paul Brightwell, Nina Young; D: Peter Howitt; W: Peter Howitt; C: Remi Adefarasin; M: David Hirschfelder.