Review of The Hours (2002) by Byron B — 08 May 2013

The special features on the DVD were helpful in providing context. The film is intricately woven together and can be appreciated by itself, however hearing the full story of how Michael Cunningham arrived at the concept for his novel makes me appreciate Stephen Daldry's effort more.

Cunningham started by conceiving a modernized version of Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway. This is represented by the storyline with Meryl Streep. Cunningham paired this with a look at Virginia's troubled life while she wrote Mrs.

Dalloway. Nicole Kidman plays this part with some fascinating parallels to her character's circumstances. Lastly, Cunningham invented the character Laura Brown, a '50s housewife. Mrs. Brown, as played by Julianne Moore, is reading Mrs.

Dalloway and also struggling with societal limitations and expectations that she shares with the literary character in some ways. David Hare adapted the screenplay. Philip Glass composed the connective thread of a score.

Stephen Daldry along with the cinematographer and editor pluck out many small visual details that link the three stories and give them the impression of being an intricately woven tapestry. The supporting cast and period details bring it all to life.

The three stars are excellent at bringing to light a kind of malaise from a female perspective that is rarely explored in the cinema. These aren't three arbitrarily connected stories either. The twist that brings Laura Brown in contact with another character is thought provoking.

And we are reminded regularly of Woolf's unique poetic voice and the unexpected way she may speak to us today.