Helen Quilley (Gwyneth Paltrow) works in public relations but is recently fired from her job. She frustratedly leaves the office and gets on an elevator as she drops her earring. A nice gentleman picks up it for her and returns it. On her way back home, Helen takes the train but arrives late and misses it.
After missing the train time is reversed. This allows her to catch the train to meet her boyfriend Gerry (John Lynch). While on the train, Helen meets and talks to the same man, James (John Hannah), who was previously in the elevator. This causes two separate timelines, and the only way to tell the two timelines apart is by Helen’s different haircuts.
In the timeline where she gets on the train, Helen catches Gerry cheating with Lydia (Jeanne Tripplehorn), who is Gerry’s previous love interest before meeting Helen. This causes Helen to move out and eventually get closer to James. In the timeline where she misses the train, she does not catch the affair happening and does not cut off her relationship with Gerry.
I originally thought the two timelines would favor one over the other, but both were equally interesting and offered different perspectives. The ending of the movie is bittersweet, leaving the viewer wishing there was more to it. This drama is unique with its dual timeline approach, however, the ending was weak and rushed.
The Sliding Doors Collector’s Edition includes an audio commentary with writer/producer Peter Howitt, a feature-length documentary (The Sliding Doors Moments) which looks back at the making of the film. It has exclusive home movie footage and new interviews with Peter Howitt, Gwyneth Paltrow, John Hannah, and others. Also included is a walk-through of London with Peter Hewitt and Sliding Doors trailers.
