Review - The Hours

The Hours is a fleeting glance into three depressive lives. And yet with such a small scope, the impact is profound.

 

Life is not what you really are living every "hour". Life is what makes you feel happy, life is what which gives you aim and life is what keeps you motivated. Many people, living their life in those "hours" of charades and trivial errands seek something worth living. Seek a meaning to their life. And when they fail, they their last resort is to break free from this imprisonment. Or, these are the notions what Stephen Daldry's 2002 drama about three morbid women, The Hours, reflects on.

The Hours is an intelligent and highly cohesive drama spanning over decades, showcasing a single day of three different but thematically connected women - In 1920's, writer Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman) has began writing his novel "Mrs. Dalloway" while facing severe mental issues. As she writes her novel, we cut to 1950's where a suburban housewife Laura Brown (Julianne Moore), is reading Mrs. Dalloway, as she begins a new day in her mundane life. The film further introduces us to Clarissa Vaughan (Meryl Streep) in 2001 - her life closely resembling the events of novel Mrs. Dalloway. As all three lead characters go through their life on that day, we witness helplessness, yearnings and melancholia.  

Brilliantly performed by pretty much every single actor, The Hours, however, should be remembered Nicole Kidman's heartfelt performance. Even with all those prosthetic bells and whistles, Kidman's performance is natural, real and deeply moving. Julianne Moore and Meryl Streep also are amazing - they remain subtle without going over the top and yet creating a great impact. All performances are wonderfully woven together in a single thread by Philip Glass's ethereal score.

 

The film maybe simply referred as a "suicide" film - the film presents us with three heroines who are struggling to keep themselves intact, almost to a fault, thinking about ending their life at one point in the film. But labeling this film as such would be a crime - it is an intense character study which questions the basic nature of life - Why do we keep on living even we are unhappy and see no hope? As the film progresses to its closure, The Hours provides some great insight on life, hope and realization of our identites.

3.5/5