“The Hours” is based on a 1998 Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Michael Cunningham which was inspired by Virginia Wolf’s 1925 novel “Mrs. Dalloway.” It tracks three women in three time periods over the course of a single day. Virginia Wolf (Nicole Kidman) is beginning work on “Mrs. Dalloway” in 1925; a young wife in the 1950s (Julianne Moore) is reading the novel and coming to grips with her own problems; and Clarissa Vaughan (Meryl Streep) is a modern-day version of the Mrs. Dalloway character as she plans a party for Richard, her friend and former lover.
The movie is impressive in many ways. The adapted screenplay is excellent, and the performances were also impressive. The highlight of this film is Nicole Kidman’s performance as Virginia Wolf. I spent most of the movie waiting for Nicole to show up. I didn’t realize until the end of the film that she was playing Virginia Wolf. The whole time I was thinking that the actress playing Virginia was doing a great job. To discover that it was Nicole blew me away. It turns out that she used a prosthetic nose to alter her appearance. She has already received a Golden Globe nomination, and she certainly deserves an Oscar nomination as well.
Unfortunately, parts of the film move so slowly that you might start looking at your watch. The story is interesting, but it revolves around three depressed women and at times it fells too much like “Masterpiece Theatre.” If you want to see an artsy film, you might enjoy this one. If not, you’ll probably hate it.
3 / 5 Stars
Starring: Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, Nicole Kidman
Director: Stephen Daldry
