Rating: 
Summary: A Remarkable Cast in Their Finest "Hours"
Review: An intelligent and lyrical film adaptation of Michael Cunningham's exquisite Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about the ways in which any person's life can be drastically altered during the course of a seemingly normal day. The story cuts back and forth between three women's stories: in 1923, novelist Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman) is writing her novel "Mrs. Dalloway" while recuperating from a mental breakdown; in 1950's Los Angeles, housewife Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) is reading Woolf's book and feeling a growing sense of desperation about her bland suburban existence; and in 2001 New York, middle-aged Clarissa Vaughan (Meryl Streep) is planning a party to honor a dying friend (Ed Harris) who has referred to her by the nickname "Mrs. Dalloway" since their youthful affair many years previously. Like Cunningham's book, the film spins all three stories simultaneously, pointing out the similarities and differences between each of the women's lives; and then finally ties all three threads together in a spectacularly clever and thought-provoking twist that reveals the larger pattern of the plot (some audiences members in the theatre where I saw the film actually gasped aloud as they began to understand). As befits such a character-driven film, the acting in "The Hours" is uniformly superb. Meryl Streep is luminous throughout as Clarissa, but particularly shines in her final scenes as she welcomes a stranger into her home; and Julianne Moore brings a fascinating combination of fragility and power to the role of the repressed Laura. Toni Collette infuses her short scenes as Laura's friend and neighbor Kitty with a marvelous counterpoint to Moore's quiet introspection; Miranda Richardson is restrained Victorian perfection as Virginia Woolf's demure sister; and Ed Harris is achingly brilliant in the small but showy role of Clarissa's dying friend. Among this handful of flawless characterizations, it is Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf who nonetheless stands out. She completely disappears into her role; although much comment has been made about Kidman's prosthetic nose and the way it completely changes her appearance, it is not makeup alone which transforms the vivacious actress into the dowdy authoress. Kidman uses her mouth and eyes with incredible economy: her bowed lips move without disturbing her pale, translucent cheeks; and her downturned, darting eyes communicate eloquently her character's sense of uneasy restlessness. Kidman's Virginia seems uncomfortable in her tall body, and her voice is dangerously strained. It's a transcendent performance, and one with which Kidman solidifies her growing reputation as one of her generation's most talented screen actresses. The film is beautifully photographed in dark, muted hues; the sets appear just as they were described in Cunningham's hauntingly visual novel. While Philip Glass's score is at times a bit obtrusive, it nonetheless contibutes effectively to the atmosphere of the film. The most stunning technical achievement of the film is the wonderful costume design; clothing styles and fabrics have been painstakingly planned and executed, providing some subtle foreshadowing and highlighting of important themes and motifs thoughout the narrative. Costumer Ann Roth should definitely find herself in the running for an Oscar, as should Streep, Moore, Kidman, Harris, director Stephen Daldry, film editor Peter Boyle, and of course, the Picture itself. Altogether, "The Hours" is an outstanding film that provides an extraordinary cast ample and unique opportunities to shine, especially its formidable trio of leading ladies.
Rating:
Summary: If you see one film this year, THE HOURS should be it...
Review: I had the good fortune to attend a preview screening a few days ago. I saw it with several friends, and we all left the theater very much emotionally spent, but also emotionally lifted, but not in a conventional sense. THE HOURS is a film that really causes you to examine your life and how you live it. It's not so much that the film is a life lesson or a morality tale. Rather, it looks very deeply at the gamut of human emotions unflinchingly and without cheap sentiment. THE HOURS is a genuine masterpiece on the human condition, for lack of a better description. You'll have to see it and think your way through your own reactions to the film to understand what I'm trying to convey. Of course one of the most powerful elements of the film is the superb performances by all the cast, particularly that of the three leads: Meryl Streep, who plays the modern-day book editor,
Julianne Moore, who is Laura Brown, a 1950s-era California housewife who is suffering her way through an unhappy marriage and family life, and not least of all, Nicole Kidman, who plays Virginia Woolf. Nicole Kidman's performance is without equal in her career in my humble opinion. Just to watch the way she casts a gaze at her husband, or the urgent nervousness in her gait is as important as the words she speaks. Here is a role to be considered again and again when you are thinking of superlative acting. That's not to say that Meryl Streep's turn on the screen is of any lesser magnitude. Rather, it is a most welcome sight to see her in film again, with another tremendous character she brings to life. She has one of the film's most tense and perhaps touching scenes. I do hope we'll be seeing more of her unique talent and charisma: It has been too many years since she has been seen on the big screen. Then, there's the extraordinary performance of Ms. Julianne Moore. What can I say here? She is having a great year, having starred in FAR FROM HEAVEN, and getting incredible critical acclaim, and for good reason. Like Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore has the ability to convey a great range of human emotions, and to make it seem so believable. When you watch these three women "in character", you are so drawn into their individual psyches, that you cease to think of them as Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman or Julianne Moore. They became these characters in the film! Another performance that should not go unmentioned is that of Ed Harris, who plays Meryl Streep's best friend and the writer whom she represents. Harris plays a poet of great renown, who has been awarded a prestigious prize---the reason for the great party Meryl Streep's character is preparing in his honor. Streep and Harris share some of the film's most important scenes. I have not read Michael Cunningham's THE HOURS upon which the movie was based, so I can not make comparisons to the film for anyone's potential benefit. The manner in which Stephen Daldry has tied the lives of these three women together is fascinating and it works quite well. I'm not going to give away more details, except to say the film is beautifully photographed and Phillip Glass's score is tremendous and wonderful. I most certainly will be reading the book, but even more so, will be listening to the soundtrack in my car for quite some time--that is until I have the DVD to watch over and over again. A film I cannot forget and one I do not wish to.
Rating:
Summary: Slipstream Moments
Review: This hotly anticipated film closely adapted from the novel written by Michael Cunningham is a triumph! The film takes place at three different times of a century. In the 1920s, Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman) is living a fussy, closely monitored life in Richmond and has begun writing her novel Mrs. Dalloway. In the 1950s, Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) is a housewife in Los Angeles baking a cake for her husband's birthday. In 2001, Clarissa Vaughn (Meryl Streep) is a New York City editor organizing a party for her old friend who just won a major poetry award. What we are given is a day in the life of each of these women. The film flips between these different points in time that are clearly demarcated by their settings. You may assume that this would make the individual stories confusing, but the women's lives are linked by various themes making transitions between them seem almost effortless. While each women is dealing with particularly difficult issues in their lives, all of them struggle with similar larger issues, primarily oppression, love and death. This is a film about and probably for women. As Jeanette Winterson said when discussing this film, "I am really not sure that most men have evolved far enough to spend two hours without their own company." Of course, this is not always the case. The story is weighed down at times by morbidity. But within the context of these three women's stories, they have good reason to be thinking strongly about the possibilities of escaping these cage like identities. Traditionally for women, the only escape has been death. However, each of these women find a unique way to deal with lives they find too difficult to take. The progressive avenues of escape taken through time leaves an ultimately optimistic feeling. All three of the leading ladies deliver fantastic performances. The director Stephen Daldry focused on subtle facial and hand gestures which illuminate the internal struggles these women are facing, but are unable to speak about. They have a tremendous supporting cast with powerful performance particularly from Stephen Dillante, Toni Collette and Jeff Daniels. Each scene is emotionally carried by the powerful score of Philip Glass music. Rarely has a novel been adapted for the screen so competently. This is a beautiful, artistic film not to be missed.
Rating:
Summary: 24
Review: Divided into three sections, set in different eras; yet merging at times and culminating in a stunning revelation at the end, Stephen Daldry's "The Hours" is a serious, dramatic film about three women: all involved in someway with Virginia Woolf's "Mrs. Dalloway." Woolf's Dalloway is a woman who outwardly has it together but as the story unfolds we see her slowly but surely falling apart.
Daldry's film of Michael Cunningham's novel is audacious in it's physical design but more importantly in it's ability and assurance when it deals with the emotions involved with being a human being whether it be 1920's England, 1950's California or 2002 New York City.
Even though in essence, the three women in "The Hours" are radically different in temperament, focus and style, Daldry is more interested in what makes them similar. The three women he focuses on in "The Hours": Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman), Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) and Clarissa Vaughn (Meryl Streep) are troubled in various ways but share a commonality that makes their concerns and situations Universal no matter from which era they come.
The acting in "The Hours" is of the highest order: natural, multi-colored and intense: Kidman, Streep and especially Moore are not only out for blood but for Truth as well. These are conflicted and conflicting characters, carefully and intelligently scripted.
"The Hours" is a rare movie. A movie with a palpable sense and understanding of it's own world and a commitment to its characters. It is a moving experience that is not to be missed.
Rating:
Summary: TWO THUMBS UP!
Review: THE HOURS is one of those rare movies that tend to linger long after the movie has finished and you left the theater. Divided between three different time periods, the audience gets a glimpse of how Virginia Woolf's MRS. DALLOWAY comes to life through the generations. Back in England during the 1920's Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman) is suffering neurosis while writing the aforementioned book. One decade later in Los Angeles Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) faces the same fate as Mrs. Dalloway in addition to Clarissa Vaughn (Meryl Streep) in Manhattan in the 21st century. At the movie's conclusion each segment unites and the three woman are confronted with the absurdity of life contained in "the hours" that occur when one is not being a perfect hostess, or while performing other daily distractions. Sometimes the pains of life is better left uncovered. Some people have stated that it is better to read Virginia Woolf's MRS. DALLOWAY before watching this movie or reading the book. However, I believe it is not necessarily a requirement. You would not be lost if you have never read Virginia Woolf. THE HOURS is a thoroughly enjoyable movie. Nicole Kidman offers a spectacular performance that should be awarded. It is definately worth fighting the holiday crowds to see this film.
Rating:
Summary: PERSONAS:SILENCE: DARK GLANCES & STRAWBERRIES
Review: UTTERLY FLAWLESS! From opening credits, music [Philip Glass], Art Direction, Editing, Costume design [Ann Roth] to the 'supporting cast' Toni Collette, Ed Harris, Miranda Richardson, Claire Danes, Jeff Daniels - so many, many brilliant moments - to the pristine performances by Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman [totally unrecognizable as the funny, tortured, heart-wrenching Virginia Woolf] and wonderous, wonderous Julianne Moore in the role of a lifetime - the devoted, obedient wife circa 1951 trapped in the loving arms of a stagnant marriage, perhaps archaic modes? The choices? Numerous - but to select just the correct one ...... It's not that hard of a journey - but should be travelled by man and woman i.e. guys, this is NOT a 'chick flick' - far beyond all of that, and sure if you love action movies , this one might just not be for you, but it does lift the veil somewhat about that stranger you live with. If you have not seen this one you might preconceive a predicted journey - NOT! Incredible work by STEPHEN DALDRY - line up to work with this gifted man. AWARDS? Not enough Oscars to go around - but should be! One of the BEST in YEARS!
Rating: 
Summary: Far from perfect adaptation...
Review: "The Hours" is a competent adaptation of Michael Cunningham's excellent Pulitzer-prize winning novel. The cast -- lead by Meryl Streep in a wonderful performance, even by her prodigious standards-- is without flaw. It suffers only from being a difficult story to film, both conceptually and thematically. The novel's execution was flawless, shifting back and forth between moments of crisis in a single day of three characters, who seem to be linked by the imagination of Virginia Woolf. All are connected to her novel Mrs Dalloway: Woolf (Kidman) is writing the story, Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) is reading it in 1950s Los Angeles, and Meryl Streep, as a present day Clarissa, seems to be living the story's legacy. All three seem connected to the story of Mrs Dalloway, a woman who puts on a smiling face even as her world crumbles. The movie, like the novel, seems to be meditating on the concept of legacy. What, if anything, has changed for women since Virginia Woolf killed herself in 1941? Aren't women, both pre-feminism and post-feminism, still struggling with finding meaningful identity for themselves under the crush of everyday life? Streep's Clarissa finally finds peace by realizing that things have changed; her life is blessed in ways the other two characters' lives were not. How she finds this out makes up the twist ending, which I had forgotten since reading the book two and a half years ago. The movie is ultimately satisfying, because it honors the book's ending. I enjoyed the movie without loving it. All three leads are amazing, as are Claire Danes and Allison Janney in supporting roles. The three separate stories do ultimately connect with each other, although is is not as easy to spell out if you aren't familiar with the book. All in all, a worthy effort and a career highlight for the three leads.
Rating:
Summary: makes you want to run away and rent cheesy B films
Review: I thought this was a very good movie, although it was so full of angst I also found it very hard to take. The Hours is about three women: Virginia Woolfe (Nicole Kidman) in England during the 1920s, whose husband (Stephen Dillane) is trying to take care of her as she has had several mental breakdowns and is contemplating suicide; Laura Brown, a 1950s housewife in Los Angeles (Julianne Moore) who secretly finds life as a stay-at-home wife and mother stifling, and is not sure she can handle the responsibilities that go along with it; and Clarissa Vaughn, a present-day New York City editor (Meryl Streep) who is throwing a party in 2001 for a depressed writer Richard (Ed Harris) dying of AIDS. The basic theme of The Hours is love and loss; how we love, take care of, and try to cheer up and help those who are so depressed and/or far gone that they can't be helped by anyone. Clarissa Vaughn tries to keep Richard (who also used to be her lover) from killing himself, Leonard Wolfe tries to do the same with Virginia, and Laura Brown's son gets distressed when his mother leaves him with a sitter so she could sneak away to a hotel all by herself and read a copy of Mrs. Dalloway, a book written by Virginia Woolfe. The Hours is about mental illness, and the different effects it can have on everyone around the person with it. If you've had similar experiences you might enjoy and relate to The Hours very much; however, I warn you that it could also trigger painful memories. Those with such issues might want to think twice before seeing it. Children may also find it upsetting as they might not understand why Laura Brown left her son. The Hours is not a lighthearted film. I found the acting superb; not only by Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, and Nicole Kidman, but also the supporting cast. I especially liked Toni Collette's portrayal of Laura Brown's high-spirited best friend Kitty who has to go to the hospital and is not looking forward to it. I also felt Kate Super made a nice cynical, humourous teenage daughter of Clarissa Vaughn. Some parts of The Hours I found very moving: the scene of Laura Brown and Kitty giggling together even though Kitty is about to tell Laura about her going to the hospital, and the scene where the Browns are celebrating Dan's (Laura's husband) birthday and Dan tells the story about how he first met Laura; that he liked her because she seemed "so alone." One of the few things I didn't like about this film was Philip Glass's music, which I found too repetitive for my taste. I also found the costume design for Nicole Kidman's character Virginia a little too contrived as they made the fake nose too obvious. Of course, that's not Nicole Kidman's fault, especially since her acting was wonderful. These are the reasons I gave the film 4 stars instead of 5.
Rating: 
Summary: VIRGINAL FEARS..........
Review: The Philip Glass score brilliantly punctuates this mildly sanitized. but appropriate tale of women very much on the verge of major nervous breakdowns. Nicole Kidman as the lamented, tortured [was she molested as a girl?], brilliant and over-schloraized VIRGINIA WOOLF, Julianne Moore as the June Cleaver clone - the physically and mentally encorseted 1950 housewife, and Meryl Streep as the contemporary woman facing our day-to day contemporary challenges. [Also Miranda Richardson - perhaps revisiting familiar territory - "Tom & Viv"? Another stellar lady.] Something for every woman and man to mull over about here - three superbly dovetailed stories of angst - one very real - [Virginia and her demons and that rather odd suicide pact with hubby.....] the others semi-fictional but also too too real - close to the soul. The movie reminds strongly of the brilliant Ingmar Bergman - but perhaps his touch would have been too close. Very award-worthy - especially the enigmatic Ms. Kidman!
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and timely
Review: Rare is the film in which you've heard of almost everyone in it. Like Gosford Park --similarly robbed with a single Oscar in 2001's competition--this film assembles the talent needed to bring a difficult script to life. Weaving three stories together is a deft feat, accomplished here by connecting the stories with the ties that bind them. These include the party each of the three main characters plans to host on the day in which the film takes place, the same-sex kiss each shares before the day is out, and Mrs. Dalloway , the Virginia Woolf novel that one character is writing, one is reading, and one is living. Also instrumental in keeping the flow of the movie going is a superb score by minimalist Philip Glass. It's the acting that really shines, though. Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, and Meryl Streep earn our empathy in every scene, radiating their feelings above and beyond the carefully crafted script. Kidman's scowling Woolf, battling husband Stephen Dillane for the right to control her own troubled existence, is as believable a tortured genius as can be imagined, outshining even Russell Crowe's portrayal of John Nash. Moore's '50s housewife hides the pain of her discontent from her husband--an excellent John C. Reilly--but not from us. Streep's face telegraphs her joy at buying the flowers for her party and her guilty dismay when Ed Harris scolds her for living to throw it. Still, why should you watch a movie about three women in the throes of crisis? Because the film conveys at least two messages of profound importance. The first is that happiness is not to be taken for granted. As Streep lies on her bed, talking to daughter Claire Danes, she recalls the day, long ago, when she awoke at dawn from a night spent with Harris, before both embarked on lives with same-sex partners. She felt such possibility, such joy--the beginning, she thought, of happiness. But that was happiness, she now knows. She should have known it then. She should have understood it sooner. She's been trapped in that moment ever since, looking down a road never taken, rueing the brambles that have long since overgrown it. She should have been living the life she's got. The second message is that things are getting better. The three stories carry across four generations. In the first, Virginia Woolf kisses her sister in desperation at her situation. Miranda Richardson's reaction is a fit of hysterics, and she flees to London. In the second, Moore's housewife kisses neighbor Toni Collette to comfort her about an impending medical procedure that threatens her womanhood. Collette partakes, then pretends it didn't happen. In the third, Streep kisses lover-of-ten-years Allison Janney passionately, seeming to acknowledge in a moment Janney's years of living in the shadows of a memory and renewing a relationship that seemed troubled as the film opened. Danes gives a hug filled with forgiveness whose significance, in my opinion, outweighs all three kisses, showing that the next iteration of the story can contain not only a modicum of happiness but also forgiveness for those who suffered through the stories of the past and couldn't quite cope. The Hours begins and ends with a suicide, with another in the middle for good measure. Yet it affirms the value of life, of moving on, of progress, of the notion that tomorrow will be better. It is a movie of depth and ideas. If you haven't seen it yet, you're missing out on one of the decade's most profound cinematic achievements.
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