The Hours (2002)

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.

Director:

Stephen Daldry

Writers:

Michael Cunningham (novel), David Hare (screenplay)

Stars:

Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore

Won 1 Oscar. Another 42 wins & 126 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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
Toni Collette	...	Kitty

Storyline

In 1951, Laura Brown (Julianne Moore), a pregnant housewife, is planning a party for her husband, but she can't stop reading the novel "Mrs. Dalloway". Clarissa Vaughan (Meryl Streep), a modern woman living in present times is throwing a party for her friend Richard (Ed Harris), a famous author dying of A.I.D.S. These two stories are simultaneously linked to the work and life of Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman), who's writing the novel mentioned before.

---

Plot Keywords:

depression | multiple storyline | mental illness | mental breakdown | borderline personality disorder | 

---

Taglines:

The time to hide is over. The time to regret is gone. The time to live is now.

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Producer Scott Rudin had to do battle with Miramax Films head Harvey Weinstein over Nicole Kidman's prosthetic nose and Philip Glass' score, both of which Weinstein hated.

---

Goofs

In the Virginia Woolf segment, Leonard Woolf is shown setting type for their press, Hogarth Press. In fact, Leonard's hands shook so that he could not set type, and it was Virginia who did the typesetting. Virginia found setting type calming, and said that it shaped her feel for words on the page, influencing her approach to writing.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Virginia Woolf: [Narrating the letter] Dearest, I feel certain that I am going mad again. I feel I can't go through another one of these terrible times and I shant recover this time. I begin to hear voices and can't concentrate. So, I am doing what seems to be the best thing to do. You have given me the greatest possible happiness. You have been in every way all that anyone could be. I know that I am spoiling your life and without me you could work and you will, I know. You see I can't even write ...

---

Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Worst Old Age Effects in Movies (2016)

---

Soundtracks

Beim Schlafengehen
from "Four Last Songs"
Music by Richard Strauss
Text by Hermann Hesse
Performed by Jessye Norman, Soprano, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig (as Gewandhaus Orchestra,
Leipzig)
Kurt Masur, Conductor
Courtesy of Decca Music Group Limited
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

More than an average movie

"The Hours" is an extremely intelligent movie. It's deep and sensitive and the script is something different for a change. The acting couldn't get any better. EVERY role was casted perfectly. I never really liked Nicole Kidman but she is a fantastic actress and at the moment she just chooses the right roles. She definitely deserved the Oscar. Juliane Moore is amazing, too. I wonder if there is any genre she can't do. And then, there's Meryl Streep. Will this woman ever stop being great? I mean after all the great movies she's been in in the 80's, she's still making exceptional films such as "Adaptation" and "The Hours", whereas other actors who were great 10 years ago pretty much lost it today *cough*Pacino*cough*DeNiro*cough, cough*. The director did a wonderful job and the score is another big plus of this movie. The haunting music underlines the depressing all around atmosphere and lets one feel how miserable these main characters are all the time. At times I felt like these women's sadness was explained too little, though. Maybe that's manly ignorance but I couldn't totally figure out why Juliane Moore's character was so depressed all the time. It was a little annoying that she never stopped crying and you couldn't tell why. I paid attention and I did try reading between the lines but that was a mystery to me. Probably just a personal problem. All in all I think this is the 2nd best movie of 2003's Oscar movies (1st being "The Pianist", 3rd "About Schmidt").

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA UK France Canada Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 February 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Hours

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$338,622, 29 December 2002

Gross USA:

$41,675,994

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$108,846,072

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Miramax, Scott Rudin Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1