The Hours (2002)

Director:

Stephen Daldry

Writers (WGA):

Michael Cunningham (novel)
David Hare (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 January 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Three Different Women. Each Living a Lie.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Lyrical | Multiple Time Frames | Women | Novel | Regret

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 30 wins & 62 nominations

Cast

Nicole Kidman	...	Virginia Woolf
Julianne Moore	...	Laura Brown
Meryl Streep	...	Clarissa Vaughan
Stephen Dillane	...	Leonard Woolf
Miranda Richardson	...	Vanessa Bell
George Loftus	...	Quentin Bell
Charley Ramm	...	Julian Bell
Sophie Wyburd	...	Angelica Bell
Lyndsey Marshal	...	Lottie Hope (as Lyndsay Marshal)
Linda Bassett	...	Nelly Boxall
Christian Coulson	...	Ralph Partridge
Michael Culkin	...	Doctor
John C. Reilly	...	Dan Brown
Jack Rovello	...	Richie Brown
Toni Collette	...	Kitty

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements, some disturbing images and brief language.

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating) | Iceland:12 | Denmark:11 (DVD rating) | Malaysia:U | New Zealand:M | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:AL | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Korea:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Bern) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39136)

Filming Locations:

Biltmore Hotel - 1200 Anastasia Avenue, Coral Gables, Florida, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Zeljko Ivanek actually filmed scenes as Louis Waters with Meryl Streep, only to be replaced with Jeff Daniels later in production. All scenes between Louis and Clarissa were subsequently re-shot.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Laura's son is sitting at the table with his breakfast in front of him, his glass is empty in one shot and then full of orange juice in the next.

Quotes:

Louis Waters: The day I left him I got on a train and made my way across Europe. I felt free for the first time in years.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in My Big Fat Independent Movie (2005)

Soundtrack:

Satyagraha

Mrs Dalloway goes out to buy flowers

"The Hours" is about time - time we have left to make our lives enjoyable or to spend it in misery. It features the lives of three women, which might explain why half the film-goers (the males) might not want to see it and why it was left out of Ebert and Roeper's Top 10 films. If that perception is true, that would be a shame. "The Hours" is a wonderfully crafted film about universal themes of life and death, suppression and freedom, and unresolved love. That it is told from the viewpoint of three women should not diminish any of its appeal. Virginia Woolf must combat her life long mental affliction even as husband Leonard tries to manage her condition. Using the novel, 'Mrs Dalloway', the film conveys the heartache of isolation and forlorn lives in two other women who are directly connected to the book. In 1951, we meet Laura and Dan who, with their young son, would seem an ideal family. But Laura yearns for freedom, much as Mrs. Dalloway, and she must choose between giving up her family or dying. Move to 2001, and there is yet another Mrs. Dalloway in Claire and her dogged responsibility toward her former lover, Richard, now dying of AIDS. The themes of liberation, lesbianism, and dying enthrall all three women, and one does die in order that those around her might value even more the living. You cannot find three better actresses to portray these very complex individuals, in Julianne Moore, Meryl Streep, and Nicole Kidman, any or all should be nominated for Oscars. An equally fine supporting cast of Ed Harris, John Reilly, Stephen Dillane, Claire Danes, and Allison Janey make "The Hours" one of the most interesting and intelligent melodramas to come along in a while.