Cast: Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Ed Harris, Alison Janney, John C. Reilly, Stephen Dillane, Miranda Richardson
Director: Stephen Daldry
Producers: Scott Rudin, Robert Fox
Screenplay: David Hare, based on the novel by Michael Cunningham
Cinematography: Seamus McGarvey
Music: Philip Glass
U.S. Distributor: Paramount Pictures
With superb acting and a complexly structured narrative, The Hours tells the story of three women living in different times and places. Thematically, as well as concretely, there are connections, but the fabric that binds them the most strongly is Virginia Woolf's fourth novel, Mrs. Dalloway. Nearly everything of importance that occurs in this film pertains to that book. The first segment transpires in 1923 (with brief flash-forwards to 1941) on the day that Woolf (Nicole Kidman) begins committing Mrs. Dalloway to paper. The second episode occurs in 1951 Los Angeles, where a lonely, depressed housewife, Laura Brown (Julianne Moore), begins to discover some things about herself and her life by reading Mrs. Dalloway. The third piece takes place in 2001 New York City, where a modern day Mrs. Dalloway, Clarissa Vaughn (Meryl Streep), arranges a party for her terminally ill ex-husband, Richard (Ed Harris).
The Hours contains some rather dense and weighty material, and will have the strongest appeal for those who are familiar with Mrs. Dalloway. The movie does not immediately exclude anyone unfamiliar with Woolf's first great novel, but their appreciation will be limited. (A good alternative to reading the book might be to rent Marleen Gorris' 1997 cinematic adaptation, which could serve as a crash course.) My sense is that those who consider themselves to be fans of Woolf and her book will regard The Hours as a brilliant, literate motion picture. Those who don't know Woolf from Bronte will find Stephen Daldry's film to be pretentious and glacially paced. I'm somewhere in the middle, having more admired than liked The Hours. The movie appealed to me on an intellectual level, but there was little emotional connection. And, while I disdain manipulative melodrama, I like to develop some kind of bond with a character.
Parallelism is a significant aspect of Daldry's approach – so much so, in fact, that there are times when it seems forced and overdone. All three stories occur over the span of a single day (much as was the case with Mrs. Dalloway). Suicide (or thoughts of suicide) invade each of the segments. Lesbian overtones abound. Woolf (a bisexual) is seen to plant a lip-to-lip smooch on her sister (Miranda Richardson) while something similar happens between Laura and a neighbor (Toni Collette). Clarissa is openly gay, and involved in a relationship with Sally (Alison Janney). Finally, the overriding theme of the movie, regardless of the time frame, asks a simple question that is anything but simple to answer: what does it mean to be alive? All of the characters are struggling with this issue. In order to re-enforce the ties between the stories, Daldry employs overlapping editing, where a scene in one time period often transitions seamlessly into a scene in another.
The Hours is a triumph of acting. The portrayal most likely to garner notice is Nicole Kidman's – in large part because she undergoes a physical transformation that renders her nearly unrecognizable. Wearing a prosthetic nose and buried under layers of makeup that hide her beauty, she comes across as sickly, homely, and somewhat demented. However, although Kidman's acting is strong, she overshadows neither Julianne Moore nor Meryl Streep, both of whom give taut, tightly controlled performances. The most notable supporting work is provided by Ed Harris, whose character represents a thread connecting two of the episodes.
Paramount's decision to release The Hours at the end of the year is a transparent grab for Oscar nominations. And, while I couldn't argue with recognition for Kidman, Moore, and/or Streep, this isn't the kind of film that's going to stir a lot of widespread enthusiasm. The film's emotional frigidity is offset by its literate and artistic qualities. I'm sure mainstream audiences will be baffled, but, for those with at least a minimal appreciation of Woolf and Clarissa Dalloway, The Hours represents two of those well spent.
© 2002 James Berardinelli