Movie Review: Sliding Doors

Now this is a movie I have been wanting to see for ages, but fate has been conspiring against me...the first time it was on TV, but I only watched the start. The second time, I watched the start and the end. The third time, I taped it but I accidently taped the wrong thing. So when I saw it in the Rowden White Library, I thought, that's it, I'm going to watch it! So I did!

The premise for Sliding Doors is that:

What would happen if you just happened to miss that train? How would your life unfold after that?

This is the story that is told in this movie. Helen (Gwyneth Paltrow) works in PR who all of a sudden finds out she has been fired. Dejected, she heads back to the train that will take her home. It is here that the story splits in two - in one story, she catches her train and finds her fiance, Jerry in bed with another woman. In the other story, she misses her train and a series of events leads her to not realising that Jerry is having an affair. The movie interchanges between the two stories, then with a very neat twist, converge again at the end...I don't want to give it away.

Was it worth watching the film after my fourth attempt? Yes! But it still doesn't compare with "My Best Friend's Wedding". I liked the whole "fate" idea and how one seemingly everyday event can influence your life in a big way. Don't take anything for granted, obviously. It was also good in the sense that it wasn't too cliched. And James (John Hannah), the "love interest" in the flim was great character - he was funny and spontaneous and a good contrast to Helen, as she often came across as too intense and serious. Oh, wait, I can empathise with that actually. And her inablility to drink alcohol :)

This movie did make me think though about the role of fate, and if seemingly everyday events in our lives do influence the way we live. I'm not religious (I'm a fence sitter) but at times I do wonder if there is something out there that influences how we live. Certainly, I've had too many coincidental events happen to me. A perfect example has to be when I've talked about someone, then I see them...oh oh! Or when you're thinking about someone, then they're there. Its like you've had the power to summon them. Or if I miss the bus, would my life be different if I had caught the earlier one? What would happen? You could think like this forever, but at the end of the day, you just have to take what comes to you in life. Maybe best not to think about it...