Movie review "The Hours"

Rudin, S. & Fox, R. (Producers), & Daldry, S. (Director), (2002). The Hours [Motion picture].
Available from Paramount Pictures (US) and Miramax Films (worldwide). 5555 Melrose Ave.,
Ste. 121 Hollywood, CA.

Based on the book by Michael Cunningham, the movie, The Hours, interweaved three individual storylines. The episodes which spanned over the course of a day in the lives of three women were framed in three different locations, and separated in time by approximately thirty and fifty years.
Episodes of the second and third stories evolved as Virginia Woolf (played by Nicole Kidman) penned the novel, Mrs. Dalloway, while going through throes of depression and mental illness. The time was 1923 and the place, Richmond, England. The second story, Laura Brown’s story, I thought, was the most important of the three because it connected the other two stories across time. It began in 1951 in Los Angeles where Laura, seemingly, “doted” over her husband (played by John C. Reilly) and their eight-year old son (played by Jack Rovello). The third story, Clarissa Vaughan’s story, took place in New York in 2001. Her days centered on taking care of her dear friend and ex-lover, Richard, a brilliant poet, who was dying from AIDS. The rest of her storyline seemed useless as there was no life to it except for the planning of the party to celebrate Richard’s literary success. In the end, it gained some momentum. The three stories were intricately woven. The episodes were connected through symbolism by the use of flowers, time of day, and by the antagonists’ actions; for example, stopping for a moment to mull.
In the beginning of the movie the producer employed the elements of music, photos, and water to set a dark tone. The crescendo of notes heightened dramatic expectations, the facial expressions of the women in the photos shifted from cheerful to depressing indicating the changing moods within the themes, and the water, which seemed to consume the opening frame, told its own story. Water gives life and takes life. In this case, it took Virginia’s life. The movie paralleled her real life demise in 1941 as she filled her pockets with stones and walked into the river where she drowned. Feelings of unhappiness and death were evident from the start of the movie to the end. There were no truly happy moments except for Clarissa’s excitement in bringing together the party for Richard (played by Ed Harris).
The movie progressed slowly as the producer juxtaposed scenes from each of the stories. For instance, as Virginia wrote the novel, Mrs. Dollaway, Laura Brown (played by Julianne Moore) read it, and Clarissa Vaughn (played by Meryl Streep) mirrored herself in the character of Mrs. Dollaway. As they unfurled, the storylines went back and forth capturing the “dead” emotions of the women. Woolf’s life was set in an emotionless marriage which compounded her illness. Laura was emotionally dying in her role as wife and mother, and Clarissa was trapped in what seemed to be a lack-luster existence. Although it was known that Virginia preferred women to men, it was confusing to fully understand from where these women’s sadness stemmed. Then, there were those moments of “lip-locking” that were forced upon Virginia’s sister and Laura’s neighbor. What was interesting about those scenes was the fact that the receiving women seemed not to be distressed by their aggressors’ actions. Were they all just women in bad marriages who needed external excitement or were they truly suffering because of their sexual orientation? From a heterosexual point-of-view, it could be interpreted as sadness – a lack of freedom to do what they wanted, because, in those days, women’s roles were that of wife and mother. From a lesbian point-of-view these women’s sadness could be identified with a feeling of being trapped in marriages that could not satisfy their sexual and emotional needs.
Another episode that spurred thought were the roles of the children. In Virginia’s world the children were nameless except, on that one occasion, when Laura’s neighbor (played by Toni Collette) came over to ask her to feed the dog while she was away in the hospital. A second occasion cropped up when Virginia’s sister was leaving to return home. Virginia, in saying goodbye, referred to her niece as “little girl”.
Daldry’s use of symbolism was magnificently executed as it linked events across time. This was demonstrated when Laura’s son built a house void of furniture, and then smashed the log cabin as a symbol of the empty, non-existent homely climate within which he lived. Another symbolism was tied in with the death and burial of the bird. Virginia lay next to it staring into its black eyes as if engrossing herself in the experience of death and peace. This symbolism could also have been interpreted in light of Virginia, Laura and Richard’s dead emotions and lack of will to continue living.
The movie gained some momentum when Richard threw himself out of his loft’s window. Clarissa was devastated. Richard’s mother, Laura Brown, entered Clarissa’s story in modern-day New York about fifty years later. The eight-year old boy’s role, finally, found its place in the story. Her explanation for leaving the marriage when Richard was just a boy closed a chapter in Clarissa’s life. Laura’s words were, “It was death, and I chose life.” She closed with, “…no one could understand so I will not be forgiven.” This statement, for me, confirmed her sexual orientation. In those earlier years it was not as easy “coming out” as it was for her son, Richard, in modern-day New York.
There were many instances in conversations that exploded with the concept of dying in one sense and finding life again in another. Almost everyone in the movie wanted to be free but was trapped in their circumstances. Richard’s former male partner remarked that, “The day I left him [Richard] I felt free for the first time.” Richard often said to Clarissa, “I am only staying alive to satisfy you.” Then one day he could hold on to “the hours” no more. The movie ended where it started with Woolf’s suicide. Everyone was set free.
The movie was well-performed. It brought together the three stories in a way that was easy to follow through symbolism and shifts in time. Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, and Meryl Streep were brilliant in their portrayals. I think The Hours is about women seeking an escape from what seems like a lifetime of entrapment. The Hours is a movie for both women and men. I say this because men who are interested in gaining a better understanding of women can identify with the agony and sadness that some women experience in marriage.