The Hours (2002)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Stephen Daldry

Writers (WGA):

Michael Cunningham (novel)
David Hare (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 January 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Three Different Women. Each Living a Lie.

Plot:

The story of how the novel "Mrs. Dalloway" affects three generations of women, all of whom, in one way or another, have had to deal with suicide in their lives.

Plot Keywords:

Novel | Party | Reading | Housewife | AIDS

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 30 wins & 67 nominations

Cast

Nicole Kidman	...	Virginia Woolf
Julianne Moore	...	Laura Brown
Meryl Streep	...	Clarissa Vaughan
Stephen Dillane	...	Leonard Woolf
Miranda Richardson	...	Vanessa Bell
George Loftus	...	Quentin Bell
Charley Ramm	...	Julian Bell
Sophie Wyburd	...	Angelica Bell
Lyndsey Marshal	...	Lottie Hope (as Lyndsay Marshal)
Linda Bassett	...	Nelly Boxall
Christian Coulson	...	Ralph Partridge
Michael Culkin	...	Doctor
John C. Reilly	...	Dan Brown
Jack Rovello	...	Richie Brown
Toni Collette	...	Kitty

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements, some disturbing images and brief language.

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Denmark:11 (DVD rating) | Iceland:12 | Malaysia:U | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating) | Philippines:PG-13 | New Zealand:M | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:AL | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Korea:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Bern) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39136)

Filming Locations:

Biltmore Hotel - 1200 Anastasia Avenue, Coral Gables, Florida, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

To achieve the effect of Laura becoming submerged in the hotel room, the set was lowered into a tank of river water.

Goofs:

Continuity: Clarissa's scarf and necklace when she is packing up the garbage in Richard's apartment.

Quotes:

Richard Brown: We want everything, don't we?
Clarissa Vaughn: I suppose we do.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "30 Rock: Subway Hero (#2.12)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Satyagraha

Provocative and Hopeful

Boasting an exemplary cast, purposeful direction, authentic production values, and a haunting musical score, The Hours is a sincere praiseworthy attempt to adapt Michael Cunningham's prize-winning novel to the screen. It is provocative, introspective, hopeful, and at times downright desolate. As evidenced by the opening sequence, the value of life itself is called into question and it sets the tone for the rest of the film.

The complex storyline focuses on one day in the lives of three women from three different generations. Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman) is living outside of London with her husband in 1923, recovering from mental illness and beginning work on her now famous novel, Mrs. Dalloway. Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) is a 1950's suburban housewife, married to a World War II veteran (John C. Reilly), raising a small boy while expecting another child. And then there is Clarissa Vaughn (Meryl Streep), a present-day version of Mrs. Dalloway, so named by her one-time lover and now AIDS-stricken writer Richard (Ed Harris), living in New York and planning one of her renowned parties for him following his reception of a prestigious poetry award.

Yet there is a common thread among them that effaces any 'real' normalcy in their lives and ultimately forces each of them to make life-altering decisions. Themes revolving around feminism and sexual preference stir just below the surface. But it is the prevailing sadness of these women brought on by the confinements of a restrictive and often stifling society that is at the core of this film. Their yearning for something more or for that 'one perfect moment' in time places each of them in the painful position to question their own existence. The sequences in each of their lives are carefully interwoven throughout the movie, enhancing their parallel struggles.

The Hours is skillfully directed by Stephen Daldry and contains some of the finest performances of the year. Julianne Moore's depiction of Laura Brown is filled with subtlety and nuance. She epitomizes a 1950's housewife with a constant shiny exterior who can barely contain the internal struggle of her life's claustrophobic confinements. Meryl Streep's Clarissa Vaughn, though bound by memories of her past, is somewhat less restricted in her character as a modern New York editor living with her female lover and therefore has more opportunity to display her considerable emotional range.

However it is Nicole Kidman's portrayal of Virginia Woolf that is the most mesmerizing and transforming performance in the film. She is completely submerged as the famous novelist of the early twentieth century. The hype concerning Kidman's prosthetic proboscis and its alleged distraction is much ado about nothing. To the contrary, it enhances her performance and allows her characterization of Virginia Woolf to fully emerge. Audiences will not recognize her, nor should they.

But if it is familiar players and plotlines you are seeking then The Hours is not for you. It is neither fantasy nor escapism, yet what it lacks in pure entertainment it makes up for with introspection and a somewhat hopeful ending.