Hours (The)

Genre: psychological drama
With: Julianne Moore (Laura Brown), Meryl Streep (Clarissa Vaughan), Nicole Kidman (Virginia Woolf), Stephen Dillane (Leonard Woolf), John C. Reilly (Dan Brown), Ed Harris (Richard), Miranda Richardson (Vanessa Bell), Toni Collette (Kitty)
Director: Stephen Daldry
Screenplay: David Hare (based on a novel by Michael Cunningham)
Release: 2002
Studio: Paramount Pictures, Miramax, Scott Rudin Productions
Rating: PG
MBiS score: 8.1/10


‟It's on this day. This day of all days. Her fate becomes clear to her.”

   

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Story-line: THE HOURS combines three stories – from 1923, 1951 and 2001 respectively – whose common thread is Mrs. Dalloway, a novel by Virginia Woolf. It follows (1) Virginia herself, as she was working on her novel; (2) Laura, a California housewife who is throwing a birthday party for her husband Dan; and (3) Clarissa, who will host a reception honouring her friend Richard, recipient of a literary prize.

Pluses: a robust cast led by marquee actors, competent direction, an astute and emotionally charged screenplay, a strong aesthetic focus, fine production values.

Minuses: as this film deals mostly with sentiments, personal conflicts and difficult life issues (sickness, depression and the like), some viewers may find it slow and rather sad.

Comments: as a matter of context, the main characters in Mrs. Dalloway are an upper-class Londoner reflecting on the choices she has made in life and a young man who has returned from the war with a trauma. THE HOURS builds upon this context to show how a book written well before our time can still move us and how human beings react similarly whatever the era they live in. As a study of literary issues and everyday life, Stephen Daldry’s critically-acclaimed film is a fine achievement – especially in its thought-provoking ending that gives new meaning to the overall narrative – but I wouldn’t urge you to see it if you’re feeling blue or looking for light entertainment.   



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