Three different women, three different times, and one unifying desire to either find happiness in life or destroy themselves. A single novel is the tie that links the three individuals together. In Sussex, England in 1941, Virginia Woolf (Kidman) fills her pockets with stones and decisively walks into a river, drowning herself. In Los Angeles in 1951, Laura Brown (Moore) stuffs her purse with pills and travels to a hotel with the urge to overdose. In Manhattan in 2001, Clarissa Vaughn (Streep) watches helplessly as the man she once married throws himself from a window.
The novel is “Mrs. Dalloway,” which was written by Woolf in 1925. The story depicts the day of a woman who is extremely confident, and happens to be hosting a party. Because she is confident everyone considers her to be fine, but she isn’t. The three stories of The Hours revolve around the fictional character of Mrs. Dalloway, who represents a seemingly-brave and dominant face to the world, but in reality is utterly alone, and unable to find love, passion, or comfort.
The director, Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot), doesn’t try to force the lives of the three protagonists to play off or even parallel each other. There is no single Pulp Fiction-esque scene when the three characters become intertwined, and they decide to have a nice chat about their depression. (Although it almost comes close at one point.) The movie is more like a reflection of separate themes and motifs generated by a certain essence-that of Woolf.
Woolf’s novel does not influence the women to demolish themselves, nor does it urge them to re-think their motivations. Its presence is not meant to be profound, and it does not guide the progression of the film. Although it does give Laura and Clarissa access to a character who shares their emotions that they can empathize with, the novel functions more as a literary pathway that connects the three women. It does not create dialogue between them, but it does illustrate their unity, whether they know it or not.
The film manages to create characters that are multi-layered and universal-individuals that the viewer can at least sympathize with. While not all members of this film’s audience necessarily have a desire to kill themselves, everyone has experienced times that are heartbreaking and maybe even traumatic. Despite the interlocking themes, there are variances among the characters that allow viewers to associate in unique ways with each protagonist. Woolf’s suicide arises during a time of clarity in her struggle with mental illness; she leaves a note for her husband stating that she wants to spare future madness for his sake. Laura attempts suicide out of despair; she feels trapped by a love generated by her husband that she cannot return. Richard (Ed Harris), Clarissa’s former lover, is in the last debilitating stage of AIDS, which allows his suicide to provoke even another interpretation.
By means of some sort of a magical quality, “The Hours” achieves almost a mathematical poetry of a life being equal to one day. The film depicts a single day in each of these woman’s lives, although the viewer learns so much more about their backgrounds and values than is expected. The three timelines are integrated seamlessly together; each story contains its own feel and look, yet the editing doesn’t make the transitions feel jumpy or disjointed-everything flows smoothly. The lighting for the Woolf period is vibrant and picturesque, illustrating Virginia’s dominant and risky characteristics. Appropriately, the lighting for the two latter characters is more dark and subtle, which conveys their enervated, vicarious way of life. Despite these differences, through the editing scenes like the opening title sequence unite the women, as their individual movements and actions actually mirror the others’.
The acting is phenomenal. Every character from Virginia Woolf to Laura’s neighbor, Kitty (Toni Collette), is both extraordinarily complex and completely credible. Nicole Kidman looks, acts, and sounds amazing. Woolf’s pronounced, infamous bone structure of the nose, deep English accent, and fragile essence are conveyed brilliantly by Kidman. Most audience members would not even realize it’s the beautiful, poised, calm actress usually seen on the screen. Ed Harris is fantastic as well, and does an superb job with a character so contrasting his usual government agent-type roles. Harris has been gypped the past couple times at the Oscars; this year he really deserves it.
There is one stunning scene in which Kitty travels to Laura’s home inquiring if she would feed the dog. When Laura asks what is the matter, Kitty informs her that the doctors discovered a tumorous growth in her uterus. Unable to have children, Kitty states, “All my life I could do anything, except the one thing I wanted.” The scene is depressing enough in that Kitty is devastated and broken-down, while Laura is pregnant. Yet the twist is that Laura’s pregnancy is the only thing holding her back from killing herself. Laura is pressed to show compassion for Kitty, yet she would give anything to be in her shoes.
The film’s score, which was composed by Philip Glass, is extremely haunting and moving. Although there is a consistent motif throughout, each timeline takes on a slightly different variance and emotion. Its excellence notwithstanding, at times the movie seems to rely too much on music. The score is definitely well done, but it could have been toned down a bit as it was incorporated into the film. The individual scenes of the movie are powerful enough, and at times the filmmakers went a little overboard with score. This definitely sacrificed some of the more realistic and subtle qualities of the film.
“The Hours” is exceptionally mind-blowing and thought-provoking. The movie addresses issues such as identity crises, love, AIDS, and bisexuality. Probably the dominant theme is an illustration of one’s desire for passion and love in life, and what could happen when it is not attained. However, the movie just has so much else to say, and the point of it all is difficult to ascertain. Maybe that doesn’t matter, because on the surface The Hours is a well-crafted, complex, beautiful piece. But in terms of a single underlying message, it’s somewhat convoluted.
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