The Hours (2003, DVD)

With some trepidation, and not a little angst, I finally sat down and watched the adaptation of Michael Cunningham's book, The Hours. The book had gained quite a bit of notority, even had been selected for Oprah's book club, and there had been even more yelling when the film was cast.

More about the prothestic work later.

Not to mention the subject matter. Here we get writing, depression, suicide, AIDS, and other jollities of living in the twentieth century. As somone whose life has been touched by these subjects, I really wasn't certain if I could sit through two hours of these subjects being covered in depth without it sending me off into a fit of the crazies myself.

As far as adaptations go, this one is excellent. Very little is diviated from in the novel, and the settings and dialogue manage to create a nearly oppressive atmosphere that was at times hard to take, but perfect for the stories that were being told. Telling three stories that intertwine and mesh together while actually remaining decades apart is a novel trick, and surprisingly, worked in this film. Personally, I found the book a miserable read, and I was uncertain about how I was going to manage to sit through it.

Beginning with the suicide of Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman), we get to see the revelations of two other women as well, Laura Brown (Julianne Moore), a suburban housewife in 1950's Los Angeles, and Clarissa Vaughn (Meryl Streep), a book editor in modern day New York City. The other lynchpin of the novel is Richard (Ed Harris), a writer and friend of Clarissa's who is suffering from the final stages of AIDS. Clarissa is throwing a party in honor of Richard recieving an award for his work; Laura is planning a party for her husband's birthday, and Virginia's sister Vanessa (Miranda Richardson) is coming with her children for an impromptu party. The other is the novel, Mrs. Dalloway, from its creation to reading it and then to actually living it.

Similarities abound in this -- from meals, flowers, guests arriving that are unexpected and sometimes early -- to the overall theme of depression and coping with it, to the ultimate question of how do we choose living over the temptation of death are the main themes that tie all of this together. In the book, I found it to be sloppy and a bit much to take, here in the film it works.

Time and images fold seamlessly one into the other here, with one character in a modern decade opening a door, only to have a view of the past, and vice versa. Where Woolf is vocal, and all too understanding of her mental illness and the anguish it brings, Laura can't grasp the reasons why she's so very unhappy, and Clarissa choses to avoid it alltogether. I think what made it work in the film version are the actresses themselves, able to convey the emotional emptiness and searching with a single look or gesture. In the book, this was handled with several pages or paragraphs of rather tedious prose.

Much furor was raised over the fact that Kidman used a bit of makeup magic for her to more closely resemble Woolf, but it's nothing odd or unusual about it -- she becomes the writer in this one, and I found myself unable to look away when she was onscreen. The awards that she picked up for Best Actress in this are well-deserved, both the Oscar and Golden Globe. Moore as the housewife fit her setting perfectly, and while I could certainly sympathize with her, there was nothing to really make me notice either. Alas, Meryl Streep was, well, Meryl Streep in this.

The other standout performance in this was Ed Harris as Richard. While his on-screen time was not much compared to the others, his performance was top notch, and should have been recognized more. (Quick, how many of you can remember who won Best supporting actor for last year's movies? I thought so.) With his words and looks he was able to show the viewer so much of what living with a terminal illness is like -- without making it maudlin or sappy.

Other casting in this was excellent, from Alison Janney taking the part of Clarissa's partner, Sally. Clare Danes as Clarissa's daughter, Julia, and Jeff Daniels as Richard's ex-partner, Louis. Director Stephen Daldry is spot on with his direction and vision, knowing exactly when enough is enough, and letting the viewer add in the missing bits. Philip Glass scored this with his usual skill, and I've found the score to have become one of my favorites.

On DVD with two additional commentary tracks from the lead actresses, and another by the director and novelist Michael Cunningham. Four featurettes cover the aspects of the film, from Woolf's novel Mrs. Dalloway, to the scoring of the film, and an essay about Virginia Woolf. The usual additions of trailers and english subtitles are there as well.

I would not suggest this one for younger viewers, the depticitions of death, strong emotions and other themes are a bit strong despite being rated PG-13.

All in all, I do recommend this one for the strong acting, interesting storyline and cinematography. If you enjoyed the book, then I certain do suggest that you add this one to your viewing list.