“The Hours” (Paramount Pictures)
“The Hours” is the story of three women linked through time by the influence of a book. Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and Nicole Kidman bring these people to life in vivid portraits that will stagger your emotions. “The Hours” is one of the best movies of the year and one that should not be missed.
Streep plays Clarissa Vaughan, a modern day “Mrs. Dalloway.” She is so much like the party giving character in Virginia Woolf’s novel that her friends call her by that name. Julianne Moore plays Laura Brown, a woman on the verge of shattering. The one string of sanity she hangs on to is her reading of the book MRS DALLOWAY. And Kidman plays Virginia Woolf, a woman whose own life was fraying but who still has the talent and the drive to write the book.
Three women in three different decades. Woolf is seen in the forties, Brown in the fifties, and Vaughan in modern times. The movie moves back and forth between these three women and their times with fluid ease. The stories seem to be isolated from each other but as they evolve they become supportive.
There are also men in each of the women’s lives. Woolf’s husband is played by Stephen Dillane; Brown’s by John C Reilly. The man in Vaughan’s life is a poet dying of AIDS and he is played by Ed Harris. All of the male roles are secondary but they are all important to the overall telling of the stories.
It is hard to compare the talent exhibited by the three main actresses. Streep is incomparable as always. Moore shows why she is a double Oscar nominee this year. And Kidman is outfitted with a prosthesis for her nose and it changes her look. Her talent does the rest.
The movie is rated PG-13 for profanity.
“The Hours” is a movie that demands your attention. It is not a film to be taken lightly. There are complexities on top of complexities in these stories, and strangely there is hope on top of hope – even in the darkest of hours.
Mention must be made of Phillip Glass’ amazing score. It becomes almost a fourth character in the film. It heightens each scene and underscores the emotions. It is beautifully executed and presented.
There is a lot of passion and living in “The Hours.” These three women have burdens to carry but manage to find the avenue of escape each one needs. They all learn to embrace life and to do it in spite of what society says they must do.
I scored “The Hours” a time warped 9 out of 10.
©2002 Jackie K. Cooper
