Sliding Doors
| Sliding Doors | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Peter Howitt |
| Produced by |
Sydney Pollack Philippa Braithwaite |
| Written by | Peter Howitt |
| Starring | |
| Music by | David Hirschfelder |
| Cinematography | Remi Adefarasin |
| Edited by | John Smith |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by |
Miramax Films (USA theatrical) Paramount Pictures (International, USA home video) |
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Release date
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Running time
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99 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $6 million |
| Box office | $58 million |
Sliding Doors is a 1998 British-American romantic drama film written and directed by Peter Howitt and starring Gwyneth Paltrow and John Hannah, while also featuring John Lynch, Jeanne Tripplehorn, and Virginia McKenna. The film alternates between two parallel universes, based on the two paths the central character's life could take depending on whether or not she catches a train, and causing different outcomes in her life.
Helen Quilley (Gwyneth Paltrow) gets fired from her public relations job. As she leaves the office building, she drops an earring in the lift and a man picks it up for her. She rushes for her train on the London Underground and misses it. The plot then splits into two parallel universes, the other detailing what would have happened had she caught that train.
In the timeline in which she boards the train, Helen sits alongside James (John Hannah) (the man in the lift) on the Underground and they strike up a conversation. She gets home in time to catch her boyfriend, Gerry (John Lynch), in bed with his American ex-girlfriend, Lydia (Jeanne Tripplehorn). Helen dumps him and moves in with her friend Anna (Zara Turner), and changes her appearance to make a fresh start. James continues to serendipitously pop into Helen's life, cheering her up and encouraging her to start her own public relations firm. She and James fall in love despite her reservations about beginning another relationship so soon after her ugly breakup with Gerry. Eventually, Helen discovers that she is pregnant. Believing it is James' child, she goes to see him at his office. She is stunned to learn from James' secretary that he is married. Upset, she disappears. James finds her on a bridge and explains that he was married but is now separated and planning a divorce. He and his soon-to-be-ex-wife maintain the appearance of a happy marriage for the sake of his sick mother. After she and James declare their love, Helen walks out into the road and is hit by a van.
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Wikipedia