Thursday, June 03, 2010
Sliding Doors
Just finished watching Sliding Doors again. It gets me wondering about many things in life. What happen if I haven't done this? What happen if I've done that? Will my fate be the same?
The film was released in 1998. I could still remember bits of it till today. It's really a good film to watch. And it really gets you thinking. Cos some things that happened can be the same even if you've chose a different route. Some things may end up differently. But it seems like the things which will happen will still happen, just in a different order of life. It's difficult for me to explain unless you've watched the film before.
Watch Sliding Doors on Youtube. Just click here.
A synopsis of the film taken from Wikipedia:
The film follows Helen Quilley (Gwyneth Paltrow), who has just been fired from her public relations job. The plot splits into two parallel universes, based on the two paths her life could take depending on whether she catches a London Underground train or not.
In the timeline in which she makes the train, she meets James (John Hannah) 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 ex-girlfriend Lydia (Jeanne Tripplehorn); she dumps him and moves in with her friend Anna (Zara Turner). 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 Helen's reservations about beginning another relationship so soon after her ugly breakup with Gerry.
In the timeline in which she misses the train, she then hails a taxi instead but a man tries to snatch her handbag. Helen hits her head in the scuffle and goes to hospital. She arrives home late, giving Lydia time to leave. Helen carries on with her life oblivious of Gerry's infidelity, and works part-time jobs to pay bills. Gerry conceals his infidelity and juggles the two women in his life; Lydia even interacts with Helen on several occasions. Helen has a number of conflicts with Gerry, then discovers she's pregnant with his baby, but delays telling him.
In the first timeline, Helen discovers she's pregnant with James' child and 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 to divorce. He and his soon-to-be ex-wife maintain a cordial relationship for the sake of his sick mother.
In the second timeline, Helen tells Gerry she has a job interview with an international PR firm. Thinking Helen is at the interview, Gerry sees Lydia, who is also pregnant with his child. While there, the doorbell rings and Lydia tells Gerry to answer it. Helen is there, and is stunned when Lydia tells her she can't do the interview because she's "deciding whether or not to keep your boyfriend's baby."
In both timelines, she is in an accident, goes to the hospital and loses the baby. In the timeline in which she caught the train, she dies in the arms of her newfound love. In the timeline in which she didn't, she recovers and tells Gerry to leave for good. Before waking up, she sees flashes of the other Helen's life.
In the final scene (now taking place solely in the "missed the train" universe), James is leaving the hospital after visiting his mother, and Helen is leaving after ending her relationship with Gerry. Helen drops an earring in the elevator and it is picked up by James. This mirrors the start of the film, where James picks up Helen's earring on the elevator after Helen is fired from her job. Before the doors close, James tells Helen to cheer up, and repeats his line, "You know what the Monty Python boys say..." Helen (who, in the beginning of the film, assumed the rejoinder to be "always look on the bright side of life.") says, "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition." She and James stare at one another, surprised by her response as the doors close, leaving the audience to speculate upon the outcome.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
The film was released in 1998. I could still remember bits of it till today. It's really a good film to watch. And it really gets you thinking. Cos some things that happened can be the same even if you've chose a different route. Some things may end up differently. But it seems like the things which will happen will still happen, just in a different order of life. It's difficult for me to explain unless you've watched the film before.
Watch Sliding Doors on Youtube. Just click here.
A synopsis of the film taken from Wikipedia:
The film follows Helen Quilley (Gwyneth Paltrow), who has just been fired from her public relations job. The plot splits into two parallel universes, based on the two paths her life could take depending on whether she catches a London Underground train or not.
In the timeline in which she makes the train, she meets James (John Hannah) 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 ex-girlfriend Lydia (Jeanne Tripplehorn); she dumps him and moves in with her friend Anna (Zara Turner). 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 Helen's reservations about beginning another relationship so soon after her ugly breakup with Gerry.
In the timeline in which she misses the train, she then hails a taxi instead but a man tries to snatch her handbag. Helen hits her head in the scuffle and goes to hospital. She arrives home late, giving Lydia time to leave. Helen carries on with her life oblivious of Gerry's infidelity, and works part-time jobs to pay bills. Gerry conceals his infidelity and juggles the two women in his life; Lydia even interacts with Helen on several occasions. Helen has a number of conflicts with Gerry, then discovers she's pregnant with his baby, but delays telling him.
In the first timeline, Helen discovers she's pregnant with James' child and 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 to divorce. He and his soon-to-be ex-wife maintain a cordial relationship for the sake of his sick mother.
In the second timeline, Helen tells Gerry she has a job interview with an international PR firm. Thinking Helen is at the interview, Gerry sees Lydia, who is also pregnant with his child. While there, the doorbell rings and Lydia tells Gerry to answer it. Helen is there, and is stunned when Lydia tells her she can't do the interview because she's "deciding whether or not to keep your boyfriend's baby."
In both timelines, she is in an accident, goes to the hospital and loses the baby. In the timeline in which she caught the train, she dies in the arms of her newfound love. In the timeline in which she didn't, she recovers and tells Gerry to leave for good. Before waking up, she sees flashes of the other Helen's life.
In the final scene (now taking place solely in the "missed the train" universe), James is leaving the hospital after visiting his mother, and Helen is leaving after ending her relationship with Gerry. Helen drops an earring in the elevator and it is picked up by James. This mirrors the start of the film, where James picks up Helen's earring on the elevator after Helen is fired from her job. Before the doors close, James tells Helen to cheer up, and repeats his line, "You know what the Monty Python boys say..." Helen (who, in the beginning of the film, assumed the rejoinder to be "always look on the bright side of life.") says, "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition." She and James stare at one another, surprised by her response as the doors close, leaving the audience to speculate upon the outcome.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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