Each of the four central characters, Helen, James, Gerry and Lydia, can be recognized by individual, distinct traits that differentiate them from each other. The protagonist, Helen, is a hard-working woman with relatively low self-confidence, often skeptical of people and good news that come into her life. After losing her job, Helen works many part-time jobs to make ends meet and, in parallel, starts her own public relations firm. James is a nice and successful man who does everything to cheer Helen up and even has her company. However, James is not entirely honest with Helen, because he hides the fact that he is married to Claudia. Gerry, unlike James, can be characterized as a fickle man who depends on Helen for support and is deceitful at the same time. Gerry's inability to choose between Helen and Lydia, constant lies to Helen and even Russell, and lack of income are all factors that contribute to his characterization. Lydia is the exact opposite of Helen. She is an aggressive and devious woman who is emotionally dependent on Gerry. His constant phone calls, plots to inform Helen of the affair, and stalkerish tendencies add to his "live phone" status. While we may align ourselves with each of these characters, their actions ultimately lead us to become allies only with Helen and James. Howitt uses a sound bridge to connect the shot of Gerry helping a drunken Helen into bed with the next shot, in which Gerry is berating himself for almost being caught cheating. At this point, the audience feels disgusted by Gerry's lies. He should feel guilty for lying, not for almost getting caught. While talking to himself in the mirror, Gerry states, "you're seeing yourself in the mirror again... middle of the paper... Ry and Lydia, simultaneously making them cheer about their relationship." between Helen and James. Elements of staging, such as lighting, choice of clothing and setting, help to reinforce this contrast. Although the film depicts a relatively short period in Helen's life, many life-changing events occur during this time. Howitt highlights these important events with the image of sliding doors, thus bringing chance, possibility and change back to the film's central theme. Our loyalty to Helen is inevitable, because we follow her story and are led to understand her motivations and agree with them; therefore, it is the loyalty, or non-loyalty, to the other characters that Howitt must work hardest to elicit in the audience and he does this by manipulating each character's actions to suit his needs and get a certain reaction from the audience..