Directed by:
Stephen DaldryCinematography:
Seamus McGarveyComposer:
Philip GlassCast:
Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Meryl Streep, Stephen Dillane, Miranda Richardson, Sophie Wyburd, Lyndsey Marshal, Linda Bassett, Christian Coulson (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
THE HOURS tells the story of three very different individuals who share the feeling that they have been living their lives for someone else. Virginia Woolf (Kidman) lives in a suburb of London in the 1920's as she struggles to begin writing her first great novel, Mrs. Dalloway, while also attempting to overcome the mental illness that threatens to engulf her. Laura Brown (Moore), a young wife and mother in post-World War II Los Angeles, is just starting to read Mrs. Dalloway, and is so deeply affected by it that she begins to question the life she has chosen for herself. Then, in contemporary New York City, Clarissa Vaughan (Streep) is a modern-day mirror image of Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway as she plans what may be the final party for her friend and former lover, Richard (Harris), who is dying of AIDS. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (9)
One of the most complex, emotionally powerful and engaging dramas under the baton of the master of the genre Stephen Daldry (The Reader). The great cinematic atmosphere is the result of the interpenetration between the three time dimensions, which was handled absolutely wonderfully and I didn't get lost in the film at all. The beautiful musical score and the great period rendition characterizing the time dimensions added to the overall impression, which was convincing. Such a gem with a great cast is not born every year and deserves both thumbs up.
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The way the three stories are intertwined here is truly unique, not only in terms of content but also in the actual integration of the individual plotlines. Formally and in terms of acting, I found the film very appealing. However, I can't help but feel that, in the end, the film didn't really tell me that much.
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An unquestionably effective film with great direction and superb performances (Julianne Moore!), but I was unable to relate to the characters. The women’s worldviews are portrayed so perfectly that I could not understand them. In short, my ideas simply don’t agree with this film. It took about two years and then she told him: Hey, I’m lesbian. Wow.
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I wouldn’t want to see this dubbed, the performances are fantastic. Nicole Kidman with her fake nose and wig is really unrecognizable and she is great as an introverted, depressed woman. But Julianne Moore is even better, she should have got the Oscar, it is “her” film. Her scene in the hotel is such an emotional barrage that it would be enough for one film on its own. But Daldry doesn't spare the audience and the film is emotionally gripping from start to finish. In short, The Hours is a hundred minutes of crackling emotion, perfectly enhanced by Phillip Glass's magnificent score. It's not very often that I get chills when I watch a movie these days, but it happened a lot with this film. I am really happy that films like this are still being made. It was a massive surprise, I didn’t expect much and it was so good!
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For me, unfortunately, it's a clear case of a film that pretends to be great art and yet is boring and uninteresting to the point of shame. Really, the only thing that impressed me in that dreary flood of boredom was the beautiful music and the excellent performances of everyone present; except perhaps Nicole Kidman, who played her difficult role perfectly, but after the hard work of the make-up artists she looked so ugly that I didn't have the strength to watch her consistently. In the end, however, all the shining ladies were overshadowed by the absolutely stunning Ed Harris, whose performance only added to the list of "The Oscar should have gone to...". Maybe it would take one more viewing to absorb it all, but to be honest I'll probably never find the courage to do that.
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