The Hours Movie Review

The Hours (2002)

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Written by: Michael Cunningham (novel), David Hare (screenplay)
Directed by: Stephen Daldry
Starring:  Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Stephen Dillane, Miranda Richardson, John C. Reilly, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Ed Harris, Jeff Daniels, Claire Danes
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer

Plot
This drama follows the parallel lives of three 20th-century women, writer Virginia Woolf, an unsatisfied 1950s housewife, and a modern-day book editor who's losing her former lover to AIDS.

Verdict
This is a well made movie tackling serious issues of depression. What strengthens the story is seeing this from three vantage points. The three lead actresses do an amazing job. This is one day in each life, albeit a significant day. It's raw and emotional, unfurling effectively. This won't be a movie I watch every year, but it's worth watching once.
Watch it.

Review
The novel "Mrs. Dalloway" weaves together three generations of women. In 1951, housewife Laura Brown is planning a party for her husband, in the present day Clarissa Vaughn is throwing a party for her friend Richard, a famous author dying of AIDS, and in 1923 Virginia Woolf writes "Mrs. Dalloway."

I like this concept. One of these stories alone wouldn't be enough, but running them together uncovers differences between time periods while also showing that some things don't change.
It's different as most movie don't focus on a story this small or sullen. Three different people deal with depression. It doesn't matter the time or circumstances. With three characters this manages to really heighten the emotion. Each character is slightly different, but they share similarities.

All three seek meaning and a connection. All three of them encounter suicide, either that of a friend or contemplating their own. It doesn't matter how great your life might seem, struggles and doubt can affect anyone. How do you find a passion that makes life worth living? Even then, is that passion fulfilling?

This isn't the first time Julianne Moore has played a '50s house wife. She played a '50s housewife in Far From Heaven (read my review), a commentary on society and race, and in Suburbicon (read my review), an abandoned Coen brothers script picked up by George Clooney.

This is indeed Nicole Kidman playing Virginia Woolfe.

The three leads do a great job, but it's easy for Nicole Kidman to loom larger as the character we see looks and sounds nothing like Kidman.
It's an intimate story and that provides a a wide range of emotions and feelings from the characters. The whole is stronger than the parts in a well crafted movie that examines depression.