Edwin Schrödinger is famous for proposing a thought experiment involving a cat locked in a windowless room with some poison. His quantum mechanics brethren argue that, reality being based on our subjective observations, until one opens the door to the room, two realities actually exist: the cat is both dead from eating the poison and alive from not eating the poison. The option you perceive to be true when you open the door determines the fate of the cat. This principle comes into play during Sliding Doors, which could have also been called Schrödinger’s Chick Flick.
Helen Quilley (Gwyneth Paltrow) gets fired from her job early in the day and heads home to sulk. She reaches the train station at the last possible moment and her life splits into two realities. In one, she makes the train, arrives home to find her boyfriend (John Lynch) in bed with another woman, dumps his sorry butt, and falls in love with another man (John Hannah). In the other, she misses the train, stays with her cheating bohemian boyfriend, works two crappy jobs to support his goal of becoming a writer, and is generally frustrated with life.
When I was a young lad in the 1990s, this was one of those films that ‘everybody’ was talking about. Gwyneth Paltrow was the ‘it girl’ of the moment, and chick flicks never go out of style. What’s not to like? While some sequences are cleverly shot to produce a seamless transition between realities, this film will disappoint anyone hoping for any serious philosophical musings. I wouldn’t be so harsh as to call the twin realities a gimmick but it never really evolves past the point of being an interesting idea.
For those wondering about convergence and finality, yes, there is some. I won’t spoil the ending for you but I will say that I was not a fan of how the realities converge. There is a cute little sendoff that suggests our principal characters are somehow aware of the other reality that could have been, but that’s all it is- cute. It serves its purpose as a chick flick by giving audiences plenty to gush over, rant about, and hope for.
I suppose I was expecting more from this film, though I don’t know why. It was buzz-worthy upon release but it hasn’t gone down in the annals of 90s movie must-sees. Maybe Brits and anglophiles will get more out of it, but I think it’s pretty clear throughout that Paltrow’s accent is phony. That and you can clearly tell where harsher swear words were over-dubbed in post-production to gain a more audience-friendly, PG-13 rating.
Calling Sliding Doors a failed experiment is unfair for three reasons. First, it was not the first film to dabble with simultaneous timelines. Second, it strikes me that the filmmakers never set out to make a philosophical, quantum physics-inducing film. Third, the story itself is enjoyable and entertaining. If you’re feeling like taking in something quirky and different, check it out. If you pass on it, it’s not the end of the world. At least not in this reality.
Edwin Schrödinger is famous for proposing a thought experiment involving a cat locked in a windowless room with some poison. His quantum mechanics brethren argue that, reality being based on our subjective observations, until one opens the door to the room, two realities actually exist: the cat is both dead from eating the poison and alive from not eating the poison. The option you perceive to be true when you open the door determines the fate of the cat. This principle comes into play during Sliding Doors, which could have also been called Schrödinger’s Chick Flick.
