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Great Movies That You've Missed, Part 2

Before 'Shakespeare,' Paltrow Entered 'Sliding Doors'

Updated 1:11 p.m. EDT August 4, 2000 -- Before "Shakespeare" fell in love with her and she learned about the talents of "Mr. Ripley," Gwyneth Paltrow was known as an actress on the verge of superstardom with solid supporting roles in mainstream movies like "Seven" and art-house faves like "Emma."

And while we know how the story with "Shakespeare" eventually turned out (a best actress Oscar for the best picture made her dreams come true), you can't help but wonder what path her career might have taken had her decisions had been a bit different -- decisions that might have included not appearing in a lesser-known film of hers, "Sliding Doors."

Released in the spring of 1998, "Sliding Doors" is another one of those great movies that you probably missed in the theaters. While it achieved moderate success in the art houses and in a limited run in wide release, it never quite found the mass audience that it so richly deserved.

Produced by Oscar winner Sydney Pollack and written and directed by British thespian Peter Howitt, "Sliding Doors" is a dramedy that follows the romantic travails of Helen (Paltrow), a British PR agent. What makes this love story unique is that two different scenarios of her life are played out simultaneously, separated by a mere split-second incident. In one "life" she catches a subway, and in the other, she's shut out of the train's slidng doors, setting off -- or not setting off -- a life-changing chain of events.

What makes Howitt's story even more interesting, though, is that sometimes these two paths intertwine. But no matter how close or far apart the two scenarios become, ultimately there can be only one conclusion.

"This is a film that I'm really proud of -- to be a part of a happy, sweet movie that also wasn't a condescending movie," Paltrow told me in an interview before the film's theatrical release. "It was a smart movie and so romantic, all based out of this philosophical idea of what would happen in your life if you would have (gone) left at the corner instead of straight. It's so original."

What makes that original idea all the more amazing is that it's a film to which virtually everybody on the planet can relate. And while the idea was staring us all in the face every day, Howitt was the one who finally grasped it, and smartly employed the talents of Hannah, then hot off the success of "Four Weddings and a Funeral," (who later went on to be one of the leads in "The Mummy") to co-star in it.

The project then came to the attention of Pollack in an informal chat with Hannah. With Pollack, Paltrow came aboard, and the rest, as they say, is history.

"I, like everybody else, was shocked that nobody else thought of this before," Pollack told me in an interview about the film. "We're certainly all preoccupied the concept of it with every day of our life. We wander around and say, 'If I just left 10 minutes earlier, if I just would have (gone) that way instead of this way, I wouldn't have gotten stuck in the traffic, gotten in an accident or missed an appointment.' You really do wonder all the time, 'What if?'"

What I love about "Sliding Doors" is that instead of the obvious -- where it could have followed the repercussions of a conscious decision -- it examines the notion of how we can be affected drastically by split-second moments that at the time seem all but fleeting. And while the film succeeds as a great piece of entertainment, it's ultimately an educational tool, which forces us to think about the things about which we often become complacent.

That, at least, is the upside. On the downside, it might also find you questioning every move you make. But trust me, that is the last thing that anybody connected with the film wants you to do.

"I do retrospectively think of those potential moments, but what I come away from the film with is a sense of making the best of the life you are living," Hannah told me in an interview for the film. "Because no matter how much you think about what might have been, you only have, as far as we know, only one life, so to constantly be looking to the past, or to constantly be looking to the future in some way means you spend no time living in the present. That is where we should be, and enjoying and making the best of what's around us."

DVD version: The film is presented in the widescreen format, both with Spanish subtitles and English captions. Special features include Dolby Digital Surround Sound, interactive menus and a scene selection section for quick scene access.

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