Sliding Doors (1998)
78%RT Audience Score: 77%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
6 wins & 4 nominations total
Despite the gimmicky feel of the split narratives, the movie is watch-able due to the winning performances by the cast
Sliding Doors is a movie that explores the idea of what could have been if we made different choices in life. Critics have mixed opinions about it, but let’s be real, who doesn’t love a good Gwyneth Paltrow movie? Plus, her English accent is so spot on, it’s almost disturbing. The movie has some twists and turns that keep you engaged until the end, and it’s worth watching just to see how it all plays out. Overall, it’s a fun and clever movie that will make you think about the choices you’ve made in your own life, and maybe even wonder about the ones you didn’t make.
Production Company(ies)
Aurum Film Canal+ Polska W F S Walter Film Studio,
Distributor
Miramax Films
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Blue Anchor Pub, Hammersmith, London, England, UK
MPAA / Certificate
PG-13
Year of Release
1998
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:Dolby Digital
-
Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
-
Runtime:1h 48m
-
Language(s):English
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 1, 1998 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 24, 2007
Genre(s)
Comedy/Romance
Keyword(s)
Sliding Doors, Gwyneth Paltrow, John Hannah, Jeanne Tripplehorn, directed by Peter Howitt, written by Peter Howitt, Comedy, Romance, PG-13, Miramax Films, Philippa Braithwaite, William Horberg, Sydney Pollack, $11.9M, reviewed by Stephanie Zacharek, Rick Groen, Ali Barclay, Dennis Lim, Mike Clark, Stephen Holden, David Nusair, Leigh Paatsch, Hanna Flint, Matt Brunson, Barbara Shulgasser, alternate realities, destiny, split narratives, winning performances, London ad executive, fired from job, train, two scenarios, boyfriend in bed with another woman, suspicious of Gerry’s fidelity, grows miserable, supernatural premise, clever hook, mature themes, lots of profanity, near-misses, what-ifs, change the course, for better or for worse, of your own
Worldwide gross: $11,841,544
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $21,730,903
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,686
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 2,369,782
US/Canada gross: $11,841,544
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $21,730,903
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,386
US/Canada opening weekend: $834,817
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $1,532,007
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,232
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $6,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $11,010,846
Production budget ranking: 1,630
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $5,929,341
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $4,790,716
ROI to date (est.): 28%
ROI ranking: 1,250
John Hannah – James Hammerton
John Lynch – Gerry
Jeanne Tripplehorn – Lydia
Zara Turner – Anna
Douglas McFerran – Russell
Peter Howitt – Director/Writer
Philippa Braithwaite – Producer
William Horberg – Producer
Sydney Pollack – Producer
Director(s)
Peter Howitt
Writer(s)
Peter Howitt
Producer(s)
Philippa Braithwaite, William Horberg, Sydney Pollack
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
6 wins & 4 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (54) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (35) | Rotten (19)
It’s not so much the tale itself as the slippery interplay between characters that makes Sliding Doors enjoyable.
June 18, 2002
Stephanie Zacharek
Salon.com
TOP CRITIC
Ultimately, Sliding Doors becomes a victim of its own cleverness, shutting down all that early promise.
April 12, 2002 | Rating: 2.5/4
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
TOP CRITIC
Paltrow is delightful as the trendy Londoner running parallel lives and has a disturbingly accurate English accent.
December 10, 2001 | Rating: 4/5
Ali Barclay
BBC.com
TOP CRITIC
Unduly smug about its flashy conceit and otherwise utterly empty, the film plays like lobotomized Kieslowski, less Blind Chance than dumb luck.
January 1, 2000
Dennis Lim
Village Voice
TOP CRITIC
Take a supernatural premise, sap cinematic magic of any kind and the result is Sliding Doors.
January 1, 2000 | Rating: 2/4
Mike Clark
USA Today
TOP CRITIC
Once the movie throws in a jolting, late-in- the-game plot twist that could have been borrowed from City of Angels, it never regains its balance.
January 1, 2000 | Rating: 2/5
Stephen Holden
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
…an intriguing, out-of-the-box premise that’s employed to relatively strong effect by Howitt…
January 30, 2021 | Rating: 2.5/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
Worth sticking with to the very end, if only to unravel some intriguing twists and turns not normally encountered in such kissy-kissy fare.
August 13, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/5
Leigh Paatsch
Herald Sun (Australia)
The film ponders the idea of the near-misses and what-ifs that occur in our lives and how easily it can change the course, for better or for worse, of your own.
July 3, 2020
Hanna Flint
Stylist
A winning seriocomedy with a clever hook.
January 25, 2020 | Rating: 3/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
’90s fantasy-romance has mature themes, lots of profanity.
April 19, 2016 | Rating: 2/5
Barbara Shulgasser
Common Sense Media
a clever conceit, but it’s one that eventually wears out its welcome.
August 30, 2005
Brandon Judell
Critics Inc./America Online…
Plot
In London, the public relation Helen is fired from her position in a PR company. While returning home, she does not catch the train in the subway. But in another possibility of her life, she catches the train in the subway. The story shows two parallel lives of Helen: in one life, she stays with her boyfriend Gerry, and in the other life, she finds that Gerry cheats her with Lydia and falls in love with James Hammerton.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny or odd comments were found in the Fresh Kernels database for Sliding Doors.
Peter-Howitt.jpg
