The Hours is my pick for the best film of 2002, with an intriguing story spanning several decades and generations, a mesmerizing score, stirring and compelling performances. The movie is a cinematic achievement that takes you on an intellectual journey of emotional realities.
The film is based on Michael Cunningham III's Pulitzer prize winning novel about three women connected by Virginia Woolf and the novel, Mrs. Dalloway. It starts off in the 1930s with Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman) writing letters to her family then we flash back to her in the 1920s as she was attempting to write the novel previously mentioned while suffering an unspecified illness (probably mental). The film then takes us into the lives of two other women, one of them Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) in the 1950s and it is her husband's birthday. She has a young son who lives on her every move and loves his mother deeply. The highlight of their day is to make daddy a birthday cake. The other woman we are introduced to is Clarissa Vaughan (Meryl Streep), a book editor who lives in present day Greenwich Village with her lover Sally (Allison Janney). She is pre-occupied with caring for her AIDS-stricken mentally ill former lover and friend Richard (Ed Harris). Richard is a poet and on this day he will be receiving a prestigious award for his poetry and Clarissa is intent on throwing him a wonderful party. All simple themes but yet very complex lives and tied together with amazing perfection. These lives from different eras are entwined and related in ways that are fascinating and sad.
This is a movie of themes, it is about life and the things that we hold dear to us and the things that we don't and the way we end up living our lives. It makes us examine what is important, it takes us into the lives of these people who are either not living their lives in reality or are struggling to maintain their sanity in order to do so. Despite being an all out drama with lots of excellent and thought-provoking dialogue, the pace never slows, you don't become bored, you remain enthralled in the lives of these individuals and where they are going. Stephen Daldry's direction of David Hare's screenplay adaptation of the novel is flawless.
The acting in this film is incredible, everyone delivers an excellent performance but there are two that are definitely award worthy. The great acting includes John C. Reilly as Laura Brown's 1950s happy go lucky/oblivious husband, Toni Collette as Kitty, the next door neighbor of theirs, Julianne Moore is riveting as Laura Brown portraying pain and sadness with such eloquence. Meryl Streep is in her finest hour as Clarissa. But the two performances that really stand out and scream excellence are those of Ed Harris as Richard. He portrays the angry, bitter and crazy artist/poet with zest and spite; He spews truth and delusion in the same sentence. Nicole Kidman may finally get her Oscar with her role as Virginia Woolf in this film. With a prosthetic nose and no make up, this grim faced character she becomes is so far from anything she has ever done and is played with such intensity and conviction that it will be impossible for the Academy to not nominate her. I wouldn't be surprised if she wins it since she should have won it last year for Moulin Rouge.
A great film with stunning twists, a captivating Phillip Glass score, excellent acting and a fascinating story that speaks to the soul, The Hours is a must see film.
Rating: 95
Back to:
© 2002 webmaster@currentlyplaying.com