Starring:	Gwynneth Paltrow
	John Hannah
	John Lynch
	Jeanne Tripplehorn
Screenplay:	Peter Howitt
Director:	Peter Howitt	Colour

Big sigh of relief - at last a 1998 British-made film that works. And it's a clever one at that. Like so many good romantic comedies, this asks just the one question - "what if I'd just missed the train/plane/bus, and THAT never happened?" We all have our own THATs, and Gwynneth Paltrow's is discovering her scumbag but much loved boyfriend in bed with his mistress. So through the wonderful gift of cinema, the film shows us two alternatives played out - in one, a small kid blocks her way and she misses her tube train, in another his mother drags him out of the way and she just gets it. Lovely. This is a well crafted example of fine storytelling. As we cut between the two Gwynneths, there is very little confusion as to which is which, using the simple device of getting the "dumped" Gwynneth a radical new haircut - entirely in character. If the film has a weakness, it is that the dialogue is often lacklustre or a tad unconvincing - with a bit more sharpness and a few belly laughs, this could have been a Groundhog Day classic. The supporting characters, too, are pretty one dimensional and unconvincing. Nevertheless, the lead performances (Paltrow's only slightly wandering London accent aside), direction from Bread's Howitt and story are first rate, and the clever ending(s) is/are quite excellent. So go see a decent bit of commercial filmmaking, and enjoy London looking the pretty cool city that it is for once. Or in this case, twice.