Directed by Peter Howitt, with Gwyneth Paltrow, John Hannah, John Lynch, and Jeanne Tripplehorn

Synopsis: Helen (Paltrow) has just been fired from her high status job in public relations. When she leaves the office, Helen drops her earring on the floor of the elevator. A man kindly picks up the earring and hands it to her. She then attempts to board a London subway train. This is where two scenarios for Helen’s future begin. In one scenario, she catches the train and again meets the man who picked up her earring. He keeps interrupting Helen as she tries to read a book. When she makes it home, she catches her boyfriend, Jerry, in bed with another woman. In the parallel scenario, Helen misses the train. As she tries to find an alternative form of transportation, a taxicab, she is almost mugged. When she does return home in this scenario, her boyfriend’s other lover has left. Though things appear suspicious, Jerry did not get caught. The movie then continues to parallel Helen’s two lives. James is a part of both of those lives. In the scenario where Helen catches Jerry in bed with Lydia, James becomes a comfort to Helen. They eventually become romantically involved. In the other scenario, James is seen at many of the same places as Helen.

Helen’s life seems to face "forking paths." The movie shows how these "lives" move on many varying levels at once. While the scenario where Helen finds Jerry in bed with Lydia may seem tragic, Helen actually overcomes the situation nicely. She gets a haircut, she starts her own PR business, she makes new friends, and she seems happy. In the other outcome, Helen keeps her long hair, she works part time as a waitress, the people she meets are rude customers, and she seems miserable.

The trajectory of the future could also be evolutionary because in both scenarios, she faces a rise and then a fall. Her high status job meant a lot to her, and losing the job is quite tragic. She also seems fated to meet James in both scenarios.

2. Helen writes her own future, just on two different fates. Therefore, the future is both written and being written.

3. Romance—Because Helen meets James, her life is more fulfilling. Even though Jerry is a cheat, he helps Helen through her problems. Without these men and her friends, Helen would not have been able to escape the troubles in her life. Also, the plot is more individualistic in that all the action is centered around Helen’s life.

4. Depth of the future—near. Because the future is so near, the details of Helen’s life are quite specific.

6. Literary strategies and problems—Helen faces a more exotic future if she catches Jerry and Lydia. The future is more familiar if she does not.

7. Alternate visions of human identity—Helen faces social mobility in a downward direction if she misses the train (she works part time). If she catches the train, she moves on and becomes successful on her own.

Similar movies: A Walk on the Moon (1999), Days of Heaven (1999), Among Giants (1999), Artemesia (1998), Blood Oranges (1998), Broadway Damage (1998), Broken Vessels (1998), Hard 8 (1997), Broken English (1997), and Casablanca (1970). [These examples came from the yahoo movie site for Sliding Doors]

Also, Meet Joe Black (1998), with Brad Pitt, seemed to share similar elements.