The Hours [2002 film]
by Stephen Daldry (Director), David Hare (Screenwriter)
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In 1929, Virginia Woolf is starting to write her novel, 'Mrs. Dalloway, ' under the care of doctors and family. In 1951, Laura Brown is planning for her husband's birthday, but is preoccupied with reading Woolf's novel. In 2001, Clarrisa Vaughn is planning an award party for her friend, an author dying of AIDS. Taking place over one day, all three stories are interconnected with the novel: one is writing it, one is reading it, and one is living it.Tags
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The best evocation I have seen of the heart-weighting, inexorable undertow of clinical depression and its too-frequent endzone.
Not knowing anything about the life of Virginia Woolf, I was lost from the beginning with the time shifting narratives. The dialogue was much too slow to keep my interest. The actresses were subdued (fitting the subject matter), and didn't inspire me.
Wikipedia: The Hours is a 2002 American psychological drama film directed by Stephen Daldry and starring Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, and Nicole Kidman. Supporting roles are played by Ed Harris, John C. Reilly, Stephen Dillane, Jeff Daniels, Miranda Richardson, Allison Janney, Toni Collette, Claire Danes, and Eileen Atkins. The screenplay by David Hare is based on Michael Cunningham's 1998 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name.
Wikipedia: The Hours is a 2002 American psychological drama film directed by Stephen Daldry and starring Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, and Nicole Kidman. Supporting roles are played by Ed Harris, John C. Reilly, Stephen Dillane, Jeff Daniels, Miranda Richardson, Allison Janney, Toni Collette, Claire Danes, and Eileen Atkins. The screenplay by David Hare is based on Michael Cunningham's 1998 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name.
Absolutely amazing film. So pleased to see Nicole Kidman in this role, she really does a fine jobb. So do the others.
Narrator's cadence was distracting (read by the author)
Amazon.com essential video
Delicate and hypnotic, The Hours interweaves three stories with remarkable skill: in the 1920s Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman) grapples with her inner demons and slowly works on her novel Mrs. Dalloway; in 1949 housewife Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) feels her own destructive impulses; and in 1999 book editor Clarissa Vaughn (Meryl Streep)--much like the title character of Woolf's novel--prepares to throw a party, in honor of her dearest friend, a seriously ill poet (Ed Harris). Small details reverberate from story to story as a powerhouse cast (including Allison Janney, Toni Collette, Claire Danes, Jeff Daniels, John C. Reilly, Stephen Dillane, and Miranda Richardson) gives subtle and beautifully modulated show more performances. In the hands of director Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot), The Hours is almost more a piece of music than a story, and like music, it may move you in unexpected ways. --Bret Fetzer
Product Description
THE HOURS tells the story of three very different individuals who share the feeling that they have been living their lives for someone else. Virginia Woolf (Kidman) lives in a suburb of London in the 1920's as she struggles to begin writing her first great novel, Mrs. Dalloway, while also attempting to overcome the mental illness that threatens to engulf her. Laura Brown (Moore), a young wife and mother in post-World War II Los Angeles, is just starting to read Mrs. Dalloway, and is so deeply affected by it that she begins to question the life she has chosen for herself. Then, in contemporary New York City, Clarissa Vaughan (Streep) is a modern-day mirror image of Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway as she plans what may be the final party for her friend and former lover, Richard (Harris), who is dying of AIDS. show less
Delicate and hypnotic, The Hours interweaves three stories with remarkable skill: in the 1920s Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman) grapples with her inner demons and slowly works on her novel Mrs. Dalloway; in 1949 housewife Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) feels her own destructive impulses; and in 1999 book editor Clarissa Vaughn (Meryl Streep)--much like the title character of Woolf's novel--prepares to throw a party, in honor of her dearest friend, a seriously ill poet (Ed Harris). Small details reverberate from story to story as a powerhouse cast (including Allison Janney, Toni Collette, Claire Danes, Jeff Daniels, John C. Reilly, Stephen Dillane, and Miranda Richardson) gives subtle and beautifully modulated show more performances. In the hands of director Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot), The Hours is almost more a piece of music than a story, and like music, it may move you in unexpected ways. --Bret Fetzer
Product Description
THE HOURS tells the story of three very different individuals who share the feeling that they have been living their lives for someone else. Virginia Woolf (Kidman) lives in a suburb of London in the 1920's as she struggles to begin writing her first great novel, Mrs. Dalloway, while also attempting to overcome the mental illness that threatens to engulf her. Laura Brown (Moore), a young wife and mother in post-World War II Los Angeles, is just starting to read Mrs. Dalloway, and is so deeply affected by it that she begins to question the life she has chosen for herself. Then, in contemporary New York City, Clarissa Vaughan (Streep) is a modern-day mirror image of Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway as she plans what may be the final party for her friend and former lover, Richard (Harris), who is dying of AIDS. show less
The story of how the novel "Mrs. Dalloway" affects three generations of women, all of whom, in one way or another, have had to deal with suicide in their lives.
Director:
Stephen Daldry
Writers:
Michael Cunningham (novel), David Hare (screenplay)
Stars:
Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore
Director:
Stephen Daldry
Writers:
Michael Cunningham (novel), David Hare (screenplay)
Stars:
Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore
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Author Information
The son of Clifford and Agnes Gilmour Hare, David Hare was born on June 5, 1947, in St. Leonards, England. After graduating from Jesus College in Cambridge in 1968 with the honors Master of Arts degree in English, Hare went to work for the film company A.B. Pathe. Soon after, Hare co-founded the Portable Theatre Company, a touring experimental show more theatre group. While serving as the theatre's director from 1968 to 1971, Hare wrote his first plays. In 1970, Hare won the Evening Standard Drama Award for most promising new playwright for Slag, his first major play. Two years later, after Portable Theatre declared bankruptcy, Hare became resident dramatist at Nottingham Playhouse. Hare also co-founded the Joint Stock Theatre Group and served as its director from 1975 to 1980. During these years Hare produced many more plays, including The Great Exhibition, Brassneck, and Knuckle, the first of Hare's plays to be produced in London's West End. In addition to directing his own plays, Hare has directed such works as The Party by Trevor Griffiths, Devil's Island by Tony Bicat, and King Lear, with Anthony Hopkins in the title role. In 1982, Hare opened his own film company, Greenpoint Films. Among the screenplays written by Hare are Plenty, Paris by Night, and Wetherby, a story about repressed passions among members of the middle class. (Bowker Author Biography) The son of Clifford and Agnes Gilmour Hare, David Hare was born on June 5, 1947, in St. Leonards, England. After graduating from Jesus College in Cambridge in 1968 with an honors Master of Arts degree in English, Hare went to work for the film company A.B. Pathe. Soon after, Hare co-founded the Portable Theatre Company, a touring experimental theatre group. While serving as the theatre's director from 1968 to 1971, Hare wrote his first plays. In 1970, Hare won the Evening Standard Drama Award for most promising new playwright for Slag, his first major play. Two years later, after Portable Theatre declared bankruptcy, Hare became resident dramatist at Nottingham Playhouse. Hare also co-founded the Joint Stock Theatre Group and served as its director from 1975 to 1980. During these years Hare produced many more plays, including The Great Exhibition, Brassneck, and Knuckle, the first of Hare's plays to be produced in London's West End. In addition to directing his own plays, Hare has directed such works as The Party by Trevor Griffiths, Devil's Island by Tony Bicat, and King Lear, with Anthony Hopkins in the title role. In 1982, Hare opened his own film company, Greenpoint Films. Among the screenplays written by Hare are Plenty, Paris by Night, and Wetherby, a story about repressed passions among members of the middle class. Hare was married to theatrical agent Margaret Mathieson for 10 and they had three children, Joe, Darcy, and Lewis. They divorced in 1980. Hare married designer Nicole Farhi in December 1992. (Bowker Author Biography) David Hare is the author of over a dozen plays, including "Via Dolorosa", "The Judas Kiss", & "Skylight". He lives in London. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Hours [2002 film]
- Original title
- The Hours
- Original publication date
- 2002-12-15
- People/Characters
- Virginia Woolf; Leonard Woolf; Vanessa Bell; Quentin Bell; Julian Bell; Angelica Garnett (show all 18); Lottie Hope; Nelly Boxall; Laura Brown; Dan Brown; Richard "Richie" Brown; Kitty; Mrs. Latch; Clarissa Vaughan; Sally Lester; Julia Vaughan; Louis Waters; Barbara
- Important places
- River Ouse, England, UK; Sussex, England, UK; London, England, UK; England, UK; Los Angeles, California, USA; California, USA (show all 9); Manhattan, New York, New York, USA; New York, New York, USA; New York, USA
- Important events
- Virginia Woolf's suicide; AIDS epidemic; 1920s; 1923; 1940s; 1941 (show all 10); 1950s; 1951; 2000s; 2001
- Related movies
- The Hours (2002 | IMDb)
- Original language
- English
- Disambiguation notice
- This is the movie. Do not combine with the book.
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- 301
- Popularity
- 105,956
- Reviews
- 12
- Rating
- (4.02)
- Languages
- English, French
- ISBNs
- 13
- UPCs
- 9
- ASINs
- 23
