Review of The Hours (2002) by Kevin M — 17 Jun 2014

I was not fully sure what to expect from The Hours, but as it had three exceptional female actresses in it including an Academy Award Winning portrayal of Virginia Woolf from Nicole Kidman it was a certainty that I must view it.

It takes very clever writing to be able to tie the fictional stories of two American women into the life of Virginia Woolf at three different time periods in a single film and still maintain a consistent narrative, yet in his genius as a filmmaker Stephen Daldry manages to tie them all together as well as Michael Cunningham's novel was able to and creates an excellent adaptation which transfers the film from novel to screen excellently. Although I sometimes found myself asking the question of what exactly the story was trying to say in terms of the fact that its intentions seemed rather ambigious and its ambitions were larger than life, but all in all it was an excellent movie about three narratives following three female characters.

The fact is that the script is excellent. I mean, The Hours has the appeal of a lot of beautiful scenery which is captured with atmospheric cinematography which captures the mood of situations very well, but the script just keeps the drama of the film in tact so well. The dramatic dynamics may be a little confusing but they are very interesting and the dialogue that the film gets supplied is vastly impressive. The Hours features an excellent script which has characters who are both intelligent and very meaningful, meaning that they demand only the best from the actors which they end up getting. But before even that it is a fact that they all have depth to them which is a lot more than most drama films which touch upon the kinds of themes in The Hours. Despite dealing with three characters, Stephen Daldry gives a treatment to the script in The Hours which makes them all deep and interesting figures for a series of reasons, and their stories are dramatized well with stylish visuals and the power of a beautiful yet simple musical score. The Hours is simply a success on so many levels, and it is written to succeed well enough if the best actors can get into the parts. And the simple fact is that The Hours serves as a showcase for some of the most talented and innovative acting of the entire 2000's period as it respects its cast enough to challenge them with really complex roles and challenge its audiences with the same thing. The Hours is a big challenge for a lot of people, but enjoying the film or appreciating the fine talents of the actors is not a challenge whatsoever.

When Nicole Kidman first appears on screen, she immediately disregards everything she is known for and creates the presence of somebody that has never ever been seen before. Before The Hours, nobody could have honestly seen the side of Nicole Kidman that she projects in The Hours. I mean seriously, if I didn't see her name credited it would be practically impossible for me to actually recognise her. She looks nothing like her usual self, she looks the part of Virginia Woolf with absolute perfection and detail, and the pure sense of wisdom overthrown by melancholia in her performance establishes a feeling of isolation and loss of mentality. Nicole Kidman gets the role of Virginia Woolf on both the surface and in depth very well within the matter of a surprisingly small amount of screen time, and it is surely her most impressive performance to date. Anyone who thinks that Nicole Kidman is a bad actress does really need to see The Hours because she shows us all what it is for her to give it her all and she thinks truly deeply about what she is doing. You can tell that one of the key things about her portrayal of Virginia Woolf is that she is realising her own mortality, and Nicole Kidman develops that at a very fine pace in an unforgettable portrayal.

Julianne Moore gives the second finest performance of the film. There is something incredible about Julianne Moore's performance in The Hours . I mean, when she puts on a smile it doesn't look fake in the slightest but you can just tell it is because she conveys to the audiences that she is fighting inner torment. She puts a lot of depth into her performance without complicating it too much or reaching for more than she can grasp, and in that retrospect she manages to grip the complications of her character with a firm tenacity. Julianne Moore's emotionally fierce and dedicated effort in The Hours is unforgettable and reinforces the true passion of the acting in the film from another cast member.

The Hours is one of the few films ever to have so many actors that overshadow magnificent record breaking actress Meryl Streep, but still she gives a powerful performance. She sets up her character with all the complicated relationships she has to confront in life and delivers on that basis with powerful physical acting combines with a thoughtful line delivery. Meryl Streep is terrific in The Hours, and although the standard for her acting is so high that she doesn't break as much new ground as her counterparts, she still reminds everyone why she is such a well loved actress.

Ed Harris is also amazing. Although his screen time is incredibly brief, he portrays the part of Richard "Richie" Brown very interestingly because he has a sense of mystery that surrounds his background and has viewers interested to find out what it is, and when they come to the realisation of his past they discover an all new level of sympathy for him. I found myself connected to him the most in the story, and so caring about him was not hard at all especially with Ed Harris giving another complex and compelling performance. Ed Harris gives one of his most memorable performances of all time in The Hours, and he stands out as the most effective male figure in the story.

Jeff Daniels' small supporting role was a nice touch as well due to his natural talent for thoughtful line delivery and a true sense that he knows what he is talking about, and the supporting performances of John C. Reilly, Stephen Dillane and Miranda Richardson are all terrific as well.

So although The Hours can be a little confusing in what it is saying or where it is going, the sheer brilliance of the acting is undeniable and carries the greatly crafted script to the end with a lot of intelligence and entertainment value.