I must confess that romantic comedies are not my type of film, but I make an exception for Sliding Doors. I have watched this film many times now and it still brings tears to my eyes. I don't know why because I know the story inside out by now.

The story is about Helen, a young PR girl, who is having no luck with her job or with her boyfriend. She shares a home with her wayward boyfriend Gerry, a man who is trying to write his first novel and having a secret affair. At the start of the film she gets sacked from her job and then the film gets very interesting because two story lines develop as she makes her way home. As she gets on the tube, the train's sliding doors close and one story begins, but then the sliding doors open and the alternate story begins. The two stories revolve around Helen and her boyfriend Gerry, and two other people James, and Lydia. One story shows one twist of fate as she misses the train, the other story shows another set of circumstances as she gets on the train. Both stories play out scene by scene in a delightful romantic comedy. It is the great performances by all the cast, a brilliant idea, and a witty script that make this film a classic in its genre in my opinion.

As with the best comedy, there is also tragedy that befalls the players in this drama, and you end up realising how complicated life is and how fate plays a big part in our lives.

As someone who hates rom coms, I have to say that Sliding Doors is still one of my favourite films, and I watch it whenever it comes on the TV. There is so much to watch in this film: the growing love between Helen and James, or the comical attempts by Gerry to hide his affair with Lydia, or there is the twists and turns as the rocky relationships reach a climax by the end of the film.

British films don't get much better than this. A great movie.

In London, the public relation Helen (Gwyneth Paltrow) 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 (John Lynch),and in the other life, she finds that Gerry cheats her with Lydia (Jeanne Tripplehorn) and falls in love with James Hammerton (John Hannah).

"Sliding Doors" is a delightful romance, with a wonderful screenplay. There are excellent lines, and the chemistry between Gwyneth Paltrow and John Hannah is marvelous. John Lynch is a good actor, but is completely miscast in the role of a man disputed by two gorgeous women. I have just watched this movie for the third time, and I still love it. It is very interesting that in 1998, two movies presented similar concepts of different situations depending on a minor event: "Sliding Doors" and "Lola Rennt". This theme is fascinating, but there are many unfair reviews of this film in IMDb, which is one of my favorite movie. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): "De Caso com o Acaso" ("Having an Affair With Fortune")

Note: On 07 January 2017, I saw this film again.

Sliing Doors is certainly a decent and intriguing film, aided by a very good plot, about parallel stories of a woman who misses/catches her train. The script is quite touching and sometimes funny, and there is some nice music and cinematography. I was also moved by the ending, which was full of pathos and sadness. With her enchanting smile and fruity voice, Gwyneth Paltrow is very appealing as Helen. John Lynch is suitably dull, but melancholy as her cheating partner Gerry (who is constantly seen getting advice from his friend Russell),and John Hannah lights up the screen as James. I do have two problems with this movie. One is that Jeanne Tripplehorn doesn't quite convince as Gerry's ex-girlfriend, reduced to uttering rather predictable lines, and she is possibly underused too, again it could be to do with the structure of the story, which I found confusing when I first saw this film. The other flaw is that there is one scene that never rings true, the scene with Gerry's confession that he still loves her, and then soon after Helen finds in the parallel story she's pregnant. Overall, it is an enjoyable film, not the best movie ever made, but definitely worth watching. 8/10 Bethany Cox.