The Hours

The Philip Glass score intertwines the three time periods so beautifully. And some of the best actresses of our time (Streep, Kidman, Julianne Moore, Toni Collette, Miranda Richardson, Allison Janney, Claire Danes) encircle their different spins around Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway in a deeply moving and memorable film.

So realistic

The Bottom Line: The Hours was pure Oscar bait--a prestigey adaptation of an intellectual novel (see The English Patient for another) with Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore and Meryl Streep for God's sake--but beneath its pretty shell the film is pretty empty; by no means a bad film, it's a decent drama that benefited from a good marketing campaign and December release.

As IMDb says it more concatenated than I: “The story of how the novel ‘Mrs. Dalloway’ affects three generations of women, all of whom, in one way or another, have had to deal with suicide in their lives.” This film is Nicole Kidman’s magnum opus, where she plays Virginia Woolf. This is a highly human film where life ends in a way, while the opposite is indeed true, in another way. There are no cutting costs in this film. The script (based on a book) is brilliant, the acting is superb, Philip Glass’ odd soundtrack stands out greatly in contrast to “normal” soundtracks and the colours and contrast of the film is astounding; mainly, this is a very good film dealing with depression in oneself as well as how the people around a depressed individual act. The script has depth on so many levels, and I must strongly recommend this masterpiece. Horrid, fantastic, real and beautiful.

"The Hours" is a quiet, meditative piece about what makes life worth living. It unites the stories of three women- Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman), struggling with suicidal thoughts, Laura Brown (Julianne Moore), expecting a child and struggling with her desires, and Clarissa (Meryl Streep), who's watching her ex-husband die from AIDS. The trio of women share a self-destructive streak. Ironically, and powerfully, the movie is about living life. Virginia dotes on her husband, Leonard, yet she feels passionately for other women. She authored "Orlando" in honor of her onetime lover Vita Sackville-West. She is writing "Mrs. Dalloway." In the '50s, Laura is expecting a child with her boring but gentle husband (a brilliant, understated John C. Reilly) However, it is her bosomy neighbor (Toni Collette) who awakens her conflicted desires. Laura considers suicide. Realizing the unborn life within her, and reading "Mrs. Dalloway", she chooses life. In 2001, Clarissa is caring for her ex-husb... Read more

"The Hours" is a beautifully crafted, thought-provoking, brilliantly acted movie. Superlatives fail to describe this film. It is a movie about the lives of 3 women, their depression, their choices. Nicole Kidman is convincing as the silently tortured bi-polar Virginia Wolfe who desperately wants to be normal for the sake of everyone around her, but because of her untreated illness, cannot. Juliann Moore is the most heart-wrenching as the mother who desperately wants to be a good mother and wife but because she is so emotionally dettached and unfulfilled in those roles, she cannot. Merle Streep is the lesbian who plays nurse-maid to her male ex-lover now dying of AIDS. She wants to rescue him. She cannot. Three actresses playing the roles of three women who are unsuccessfully playing roles and whose characters ultimately fail miserably. Their lives are poignant: brutally so. The poet/author, Virginia Wolfe, devoid of all hope that she can ever overcome her violent mo... Read more

I bought The Hours for cheap, so I was impressed, and for once, ended up watching it within a couple of days of buying - not something I do often, judging by my "to watch" pile! I always watch the trailers first on the DVD, if they're available. Some people disagree with this. Personally, I like doing it. Plus, I like watching the "coming soon" trailers too - it always gives me an idea as to what DVDs to add to my wishlist etc. I watched The Hours with my Dad, and actually had to WAKE him up at the end - now he never falls asleep at movies. I do. What is The Hours about? Three women, with very little lives, and feeling trapped at every turn. Yes, there are also women kissing in this movie, for the guys - and girls I guess. I didn't identify with any of the women, I found the film quite dull, and uninteresting. It had so much promise. And I couldn't handle watching Ed Harris in his role - normally I love him too! I wouldn't recommend this movie - maybe it's because I haven... Read more

What an awful, awful movie! Flitting through 3 lives, we discover 3 miserable people. No reason for this movie but to waste an hour and a half. The potential of these actors together would have been awesome but they were wasted on a trash movie.

A flawless piece.

Very good film with excellent actresses. At first it seemed very complicated and depressing but then moved along to make us understand what was happening.

This movie was a pleasant surprise to me. Naturally, being the artistic movie that it is, the first hour of the movie was slow, drawn out, and strictly setting up the connection between 3 seemingly unconnected stories. Up until that point, the movie was only worth 3 stars. The last half of the movie got even stronger, and presented a twist to the story that answered all the remaining questions that I had about the movie. The screenplay was great and the acting was even better. Nicole Kidman deserved all the awards and accolades she garnered from this performance!!!

a 3.5. There are some very good actresses in this film. Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, and Nicole Kidman. We get three different stories in 3 eras. all surrounding the book Mrs. Dalloway. the hard thing for me is inspite of the great actors, I found this boring and hard to get into. Not to mention since we have the subject of depression and suicide. it is also a downer of a movie. Not that i expect happy endings all the time. just too much sadness.

best picture not best actress for Nicole not Music good Julianne good Ed not 3 girl-girl action. Toni&Julianne Meryl&Allison Nicole&Miranda three stars all it deserves for three storylines, three kisses, three stars, triangle relationships. Didnt hate & didnt love so just ok

My problem with this film is simply that it bored me. I can't really point to any flaws in the construction of the film...the acting was suberb..good music...editing, etc. I guess it's just that the story, which from what I can gather is about how the hours of your life can seem to drag by and become mundane and pointless, doesn't really make an exciting concept for a film.

If I weren't such a Virginia Woolf fan, I would have given The Hours five stars. But the movie takes such liberties with her life. Despite this slight to the historical Virginia Woolf (who suffered manic depression, not suppressed lesbianism as the movie suggests), The Hours is a beautiful story. Besides, how can one not be entertained by Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore AND Clair Danes?

Can I stretch the word excellent? Yes, I can. Great performances, excellent screenplay. Ed Harris is amazing.