We'll choose door No. 1

By BRUCE KIRKLAND
Toronto Sun
Friday, April 24, 1998


 The 'what if?' question haunts the decision-making process
of our lives. In the complex and evocative film Sliding Doors,
the question is explored with fresh ingenuity.

 With Gwyneth Paltrow giving two exhilarating and remarkably
different performances in dual roles as one character, Sliding
Doors shows the two alternatives in a person's life as the
result of one happenstance.

 That event is incredibly 'inconsequential' on the surface. We
see Paltrow running for a subway train in London's Tube. What
if she makes it into that subway car at precisely that moment?
What if she doesn't?

 In one version, she slips through the door just as it is
closing, propelling herself into a life that is determined by
what happens to her as a result. In the other version, the
door shuts in her face, setting off a chain reaction that
results in a completely different fate in love and liberty.

 This proposition from English writer-director Peter Howitt
is not unique, but I have never seen a film that presents the
idea so clearly, so cleanly, so provocatively. What makes it
even more involving is that audiences realize that the 'what
if?' event seems so trivial, yet it is crucial to Paltrow's
fate. Our lives obviously encompass countless thousands of
such twists and turns that determine all. The mind boggles.

 This is a beautifully conceived and accomplished film that
combines British, Australian and American talents. It may be
'small' in the Titanic era, when Hollywood seems to offer
gaudy costume jewelry for the masses, yet Sliding Doors is a
precious gem in an immaculate, tasteful setting.

 Perfectly complementing Paltrow -- whose powerful, sensual
intelligence and acting skills set her up as a potential
superstar with substance -- are actors John Hannah (the Scot
from Four Weddings And A Funeral), John Lynch (an Irishman
from Some Mother's Son), Jeanne Tripplehorn and even director
Howitt in a cameo as the Cheeky Bloke.

 Reinforced with a strong soundtrack, which features a
variety of songs from artists as disparate as Elton John and
the Space Monkeys, Sliding Doors treats the audience with
respect. Howitt assumes we have the moxie to follow the
construct of the film, which cuts back and forth from one
version of Paltrow's life to the other. While he gives us
good physical clues -- she changes hair color, by choice,
in one scenario -- he lets us plumb the emotional depths
ourselves. It is an exciting and challenging exercise.

 Now, what if your life changes because you go to see this
film? What will happen if you don't?