Sliding Doors (1998)
Comedy, Drama, Fantasy.
British actor Peter Howitt wrote and directed this British romantic comedy-drama with a “road not taken” premise recalling the 1921 play If by Lord Dunsany (1878-1957), Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), and O.Henry’s short story Roads of Destiny (1909). Sliding Doors was shown at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival.
Howitt’s storyline branches in two directions: Helen (Gwyneth Paltrow) loses her job at a classy London PR firm, has a run-in with a purse-snatcher, and just misses catching her boyfriend Gerry (John Lynch) in bed with his former girlfriend Lydia (Jeanne Tripplehorn). But what if it were one of those days when everything goes right? As the sliding doors close while she stands on a subway platform in the London underground, Helen ponders the events in her alternate reality. The plot of Lord Dunsany’s If also hinges on a future determined by catching or missing a train.
Director: Peter Howitt
Writer: Peter Howitt
Stars: Gwyneth Paltrow, John Hannah, John Lynch, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Peter Howitt, Zara Turner, Douglas McFerran
►Cast:
| Gwyneth Paltrow | ► | Helen |
| John Hannah | ► | James |
| John Lynch | ► | Gerry |
| Jeanne Tripplehorn | ► | Lydia |
| Zara Turner | ► | Anna |
| Douglas McFerran | ► | Russell |
| Paul Brightwell | ► | Clive |
| Nina Young | ► | Claudia |
| Virginia McKenna | ► | James’s Mother |
| Kevin McNally | ► | Paul |
| Terry English | ► | Kind Cabbie |
| Paul Stacey | ► | Man on Tube |
| Peter Howitt | ► | Cheeky Bloke |
| Joanna Roth | ► | Suspicious Girl |
| Neil Stuke | ► | Defensive Bloke |
| Theresa Kartell | ► | Rachael |
| Evelyn Duah | ► | Receptionist |
| Linda Broughton | ► | Theatre Nurse |
| Charlotte Fryer | ► | Doctor |
| Pip Miller | ► | Consultant |
| Christopher Villiers | ► | Steve |
| Merryn Jones | ► | Mother |
| Ella Jones | ► | Child |
| Julie McDowell | ► | Concerned Diner |
| David Burrows-Sutcliffe | ► | Bob |
| Carlton Jarvis | ► | Anaesthetist |
| Jeremy Caleb Johnson | ► | Restaurant Patron |
| Barry Lee-Thomas | ► | Local MP |
| Tim Packham | ► | James’ Colleague exiting cafe |
| Alex Reid | ► | Waiter |
| Vivienne Soan | ► | Nurse |