The Hours
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Movie Reviews of The Hours
Movie Review: "What did it mean to 'regret' when you had no choice?"
Summary: 5 Stars
Michael Cunningham's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Hours, becomes a riveting film under the direction of Stephen Daldrey. Transformed into a screenplay by David Hare, a British playwright who has won both the Olivier Award and the London Theatre Critics Award, the film features Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, and Julianne Moore as three women from three different time periods who face depression, dissatisfaction, and ultimately the option of suicide.
Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman) is neurasthenic and edgy, a survivor of two suicide attempts whose misery is palpable as she writes her novel Mrs. Dalloway in rural England in 1923. The novel, covering one day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, raises questions about the role of women, their ability to find satisfaction in their lives, the options open to them, and ultimately what they owe those who love them as opposed to what they owe themselves. A parallel plot concerns Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) in Los Angeles in 1951, a fragile woman who is trapped in her marriage, though her husband adores her and her young son depends on her. She is reading Woolf's novel as an escape. In the third plot, set in New York in 2001, Clarissa Vaughan (Meryl Streep), lives like Mrs. Dalloway, "always giving parties to cover the silence." Here the party is for a friend (Ed Harris), dying of AIDS.
Complex, both visually and thematically, the film shifts back and forth in time, driven not by plot but by characters who are desperately unhappy and looking for ways to deal with their misery, even to the point of considering suicide. As the plots and times shift, the reader sees each woman becoming more desperate and her life becoming more fraught, until all plots intersect in the conclusion. Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey creates stunning, overlapping motifs to unify the scenes--a scene of Clarissa getting up, becomes a scene of Virginia Woolf getting up, and morphs into one of Laura Brown getting up, with her copy of Mrs. Dalloway beside the bed. Later, a morose Virginia Woolf stares at a dead bird, which becomes the face of Laura Brown, and then Clarissa Vaughan.
The acting is intense, as each woman faces a crisis in which suicide is considered, and there is little let-up or relief from this tension. The score by Philip Glass adds to the disquiet and connects the three stressful plots. Kidman, who won the Academy Award for Best Actress, plays Woolf without histrionics, while Moore and Streep show their emotions more overtly. Powerful in its execution, The Hours tells us "you cannot find peace by avoiding life." Mary Whipple
Movie Review: Five stars for one of the greatest films of all time
Summary: 5 Stars
Wow. All I can say is wow. I can honeslty say I have never seen a more beautifully portrayed picture in my life. All elements of this film were fantastic. The acting was superb, all three actresses deserved acclaim and oscars for their roles, as well as Ed Harris, who I feel is in a dead heat with Chris Cooper from Adaptaion for the Best Supporting Actor nod. The depth of this film was extraordinary, I feel that a very important characteristic of a movie is that it can make you think and have a great amount of emotion for the caharacters, and this film succeeds amazingly in that category. Character develpment in this film is wonderful, you feel pain and sorrow for all of the characters, they are all flawed in some way and are tortured by themselves and in the ways that they can't express who they truly are. It is a very sad look into the human heart, and takes you on an emotional rollercoaster on its way. The Hours is so beautifully and artistically written and portrayed on film it is unbelievable, to take a story that has no theatrical background and make it into such an extroardinary film is an accomplishment in itself. It was very imaginative in the way it weaved three storiess, which at the first seem unconnected except for circumstances and emotions, into and explosively shocking ending. The Hours deserved every critics' acclaim and award it was nominated for, honestly it should have been the Best Picture over the superficial and overrated Chicago. I feel this film puts an end to the Hollywood idea that there must be significant plot events and tumulteous occurrences of death or whatnot for the film to be viewing worthy. The Hours shows that the voyage into the human mind and spirit is just as, or in my opinion even more exciting. I don't think it is nearly appreciated enough at this time but I also feel it will be looked back in years to come as one of the greatestfilms of all time. A feat in film making and a step in the right direction for a movie world that is reliant on cheap thrills and sex appeal. Overall, A+ for wonderful film that we are lucky to have blessed upon us, definitely worth the time to watch it, you should be so lucky to have a chance to. You will be a bit depressed and saddened but that is part of life. And if you don't like it at first, give it a few days to let it sink in and you'll feel much differently I guarantee it. I wasn't sure what to think at first myself but your opinion changes believe me. And if you still don't like it than you are a very shallow person in need of help, enjoy the Charlie's Angels premier. Best picture of the year without a doubt.Movie Review: A real showcase for a stunning women cast
Summary: 5 Stars
3 Women tied together by a book. 2 women tied together by 1 man. This is the basic plot of The Hours. Nonetheless, as simple as it seems, it is one of the most emotionally intense movies you could expect from a spectacular leading cast of Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and Nicole Kidman. Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf wrote the book Mrs Dalloway was read by Julianne Moore who substituted herself into the character of Mrs Dalloway and questioned about her own life. Meryl Streep, who was identified as Mrs Dalloway by her best friend felt herself suffering the way she didn?t mean to suffer. These 3 women, who were all on the crossroads of their lives, had to make a decision. However, no matter what decision they made, they had to live up with the outcome and the consequence. It is a question of life and happiness. Being identified as a happy person doesn?t necessarily mean that you are happy. Happiness is something you found within, but it is also a decision of whether you want to let it out or trap it inside. The process for searching for true happiness and relief is never easy, for you have to know what you want first, which is the catalyst to true happiness. Feeling being trapped in a life you think you don?t want to life requires enormous courage to break out from it. Nonetheless, this is another decision that one must live up to for the rest of his or her life. Death, regrets, relief may all be the outcome, but the problem is whether you are true to your own life. You may not agree with the ways these characters chose to break through their lives, but feeling the love, pain and happiness within them is the main focus of the movie. Without doubt, all Meryl, Julianne and Nicole put on a spectacular show in front of the audience. You may have personal favour for anyone of them, but they are all unquestionably great in the movie. Their acting is detailed and delicate. You can feel the life of these characters and feel the painful dilemmas that they went through. The movie would not be complete if it lacks anyone of them in it. Apart from the leading cast, the movie also has a very strong supporting cast ? Toni Collette, Claire Danes, John C. Reilly, Ed Harris etc., which added so much colour and life to the whole movie. Their performances are so natural and beautiful and finely tuned. One could not expect anymore refine acting than this one. The Hours may be emotionally intense and draining, but it would be a movie that touches the deepest part of your heart. Also, not to be missed out is the beautifully composed soundtrack that fits into every single corner of the screenplay.Movie Review: Hours spent making choices in a search for love
Summary: 5 Stars
Three women. Three different time periods. Three different situations. But yet, in some way, all are linked to the Virginia Woolf novel, "Mrs. Dalloway". Each woman wakes up one morning with the anticipation of some sort of party. There's Virginia Woolf herself in 1923, whose creativity as well as mental illness is apparent. She's frustrated at her forced seclusion from the London she loves and is making time for her sister's visit. There's Clarissa Vaughn, a middle-aged New York woman who is having a party for a good friend and former lover who is dying of AIDS. And there's Julianne Moore as Laura Brown, a 1951 housewife who is planning on baking a cake for her husband's birthday. Michael Cunningham linked all this together in the small masterpiece of a novel. And the screenwriter, David Hare did nothing less than a brilliant job in adapting it to the screen. I just finished reading the book and so I was particularly sensitive to the small changes, such as eliminating some of the minor characters. But the rather introspective and sad tone of the book is still there. And the characters spring to life in the kind of performances that will surely garner them all academy award nominations.Nicole Kidman is cast as Virginia Woolf. I was surprised at that because I think of her as a glamour queen. However, for this role she wears a prosthetic nose, and her makeup gives her a sallow appearance. She comes across as dowdy and homely and slightly insane. And her acting is so good that I thought I was seeing the actual Virginia Woolf on the screen. Meryl Streep is Clarissa Vaughn. She's living with her own set of life regrets. There's sadness beneath her veneer of the perfect hostess planning a party, and it's not a surprise when she lets it come out. And then there is Julianne Moore cast as Laura Brown, all alone in her despondency even though she seems to have a perfect life. Ed Harris is cast as the AIDS patient who is also going mad. They, and the rest of the cast are some of the best actors in the business, and it really shows.
The cinematography and sets are also outstanding and the shifts between the three stories are seamless. There will be a gesture in one scene that is picked up in the next and this kind of overlapping editing keeps the story flowing. There's a theme of suicide throughout. And bisexuality. Mostly, though its about the our need for love and the choices we make about how to spend our hours. Much of the story is painful. But yet, its theme is universal. Highly recommended.
Movie Review: The Hours
Summary: 5 Stars
I was a fan of the book for a while. Michael Cunningham's unique prose and organization of these three stories is amazing. When I heard that a film was going to be released, I was a little surprised. This is one of the most difficult novels to adapt into a film, because the story is very complicated and shifts often. 'The Hours' is the story- three stories- of three different women, each searching for happiness. Writer Virginia Woolf, in the 1920s, is wrestling with mental and emotional demons while writing 'Mrs. Dalloway'. In 1949, Laura Brown is reading 'Mrs. Dalloway' and feeling as if she is the main character, lost in depression and feeling trapped in the storybook life she lives. And, in 2001, Clarissa Vaughn is obsessed with the details of life while planning a party for a poet friend dying of AIDS, who calls her Mrs. Dalloway. These three stories interweave throughout the book and the film and ultimately shock you with their power and beauty. Nicole Kidman plays Virginia Woolf wonderfully, and is completely absorbed into the character. Julianne Moore plays Laura Brown with unbelievable realism and works very well with the role. Meryl Streep plays Clarissa Vaughn so wonderfully, from breakdowns to buying flowers. I thought that Ms. Streep delivers a much finer performance in 'The Hours' than in 'Adaptation', which she is good in also. Last but not least, Ed Harris, playing the AIDS ridden poet Richard is extraordinary the whole way through.
The film has many twists in each of these narratives. Despite the fact that Laura's visit to the motel became a suicide in the film (it is just an "escape" in the novel) and a few other changes, 'The Hours' follows Michael Cunningham's book amazingly well. People are always comparing 'Personal Velocity' with this film. Well, 'Personal Velocity' is a conventional film with three boring women dealing with the same problems as in every other film about women. But 'The Hours' gives a unique perspective and opens to a wide range of audiences.
'The Hours' leaves the audience with a big reaction at the end, summarizing that the most important parts of life are in the hours and days of every human life. This is a beautiful film, and got robbed at the Oscars, and the entertaining film 'Chicago' beat it for the best picture only because it is the most popular film. Julianne Moore definitely should've received more recognition for her stirring performance as Laura Brown.
In the end, 'The Hours' is the best picture of 2002, or of any year!