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THE HOURS (PG-13)

Plot Summary: The lives of three women from three different time periods are intertwined through the novel Mrs. Dalloway.

Reason for the Rating: Mature thematic elements, some disturbing images and brief language.

In 1925, Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman) wrote Mrs. Dalloway. In 1951, Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) reads this novel. In 2001, Clarissa Vaughan (Meryl Streep) reenacts portions of the novel. With this thread fact, fiction, and time are woven together to create THE HOURS.

Based on Michael Cunningham’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, THE HOURS cuts from the life of one woman to another, telling one story and three stories at the same time. Director Stephen Daldry so quickly cuts from views of one woman to another that their stories seem even more intertwined then they actually are. One woman leans over a basin to wash her face, another woman’s face looks up, dripping with water. Virginia Woolf speaks aloud as she writes a line in her novel. Laura Brown reads this line aloud. Clarissa Vaughan announces her intentions for the day with this same line. And so their stories become one.

The film opens with Virginia Woolf, author of Mrs. Dalloway, filling her pockets with stones and walking into a river to die. Then to movie returns to an earlier day, where, because of her mental illness and at the recommendation of doctors, her husband moved her to the country with hopes that the peace and rest would heal her mind. Her portion of the story focuses on a day when Virginia’s lively sister and her even livelier children will come to visit. In the midst of preparing for their arrival, Virginia labors over her novel and the characters within it.

In the sunny southern California of 1951, Laura Brown plans a birthday party for her doting husband. Followed around the house by her adoring and anxious son, and several months pregnant with another child, Laura struggles with depression and thoughts of suicide, and while she puts on a happy face for others, she’s nearly swallowed by her loneliness and longings.

In 2001, New Yorker Clarissa Vaughan, nicknamed “Mrs. Dalloway,” is also busy planning a party. Her dear friend and former lover, Richard (Ed Harris), has won a prestigious poetry award. Richard is dying of AIDS and is contemplating suicide. Clarissa and Richard left their heterosexual relationship for homosexual ones, and portions of their stories focus on the happiness and sadness brought on by these relationships.

The acting in THE HOURS is superb, and the movie deserves its numerous Academy Award nominations. Much has been made of Nicole Kidman’s prosthetic nose (which gives her character a more noble appearance), but within moments you stop thinking about the make-up and find yourself believing Kidman is Woolf. The emotional demands of the film are high, yet this excellent cast is up to the task.

Themes of loneliness and longing fill the movie. There are hours to be filled in a day, and these may be filled with hopefulness and joy, or they may be filled with despair. Despite these depressing themes, the movie succeeds in helping us examines the choices we make that keep us alive

FamilyFans.com Recommends: THE HOURS is a slow-moving movie with homosexual overtones, so we only recommend this for mature and discerning viewers

After the Show…If members of your family choose to view this movie, use these questions to spark discussion about it afterward:

---Richard thinks he’s stayed alive to keep Clarissa happy, and it’s obvious that she finds much of her purpose in life through being his friend. How important are friendships in keeping us motivated in life? Which of your friends help you understand God’s plans for you and your life?

---The lives of at least two characters in this movie are clearly devastated by the choices of others. As we make choices in life, how much should we consider the effects our choices have on others? Or should we make choices that will make us happy despite the desires of others? What can you learn from the choices made by Virginia, Laura, and Richard?

---The three women of the movie struggle with decisions about their sexuality. Do you think this is an important plot element that helps the viewer understand the distress of these women, or do you think it’s primarily a device used by the author to promote a homosexual lifestyle? Explain your reasoning. 

Amy Nappa

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