Review of The Hours (2002) by Elliott F — 07 Jul 2012

Stephen Daldry's The Hours is a bit of a self-important, depressing mess, but it's a fascinating and easily watchable one. Masterfully edited between 1923 London, 1951 Los Angeles, and 2000 New York, the film follows three separate women: Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman donning a large fake nose) in 1923, working on her novel Mrs.

Dalloway; Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) in 1951, as a depressed suburban housewife who is not in love with her husband, has one young son, and another child on the way; and Clarissa Vaughn (Meryl Streep) in 2000 New York, an editor who is throwing a party in honor of her best friend Richard (Ed Harris), her ex-boyfriend, a man who is rapidly losing a fight with AIDS.

The film follows the three of them during one day, all with common themes: for one, they are all depressed to a degree; they are also all connected by the novel Mrs. Dalloway. It is a heavy film to sit through, but it's a rewarding one nonetheless, especially for the performances.

Kidman won the Best Actress Oscar as Woolf, which is interesting, as she doesn't do a whole lot in the film, although what she does do is excellent. Moore got a Supporting Actress nomination, and she is heartbreaking and lovely in her role.

Harris also snagged an Oscar nomination for Supporting Actor as the AIDS-stricken poet, and he is very good himself. The one who comes out the best, however, is Streep, whose performance is the one that is invested the deepest of the three.

She's remarkable, quite simply. All three of them are, of course, but Streep manages to stick out just a little bit more than the other two.