It may sound hypocritical, but movie critics are more often than not, `full of sound and fury, signifying nothing' in that they build up films for their artsy qualities and too little for the sheer entertainment value that is what can really make a movie great. `The Hours,' in my not-so-humble opinion, is one of those films. I'll show you why.
The entire crux of the story is along the lines of `Mrs. Dalloway', a novel written by Virginia Woolf (portrayed here by Nicole Kidman) that focuses on a woman planning a party to disguise her own shortcomings. With that in mind, let us jump feet first into the plot.
The first plot line centers on Virginia Woolf who has been confined in a rest home by her semi-caring husband, Leonard (Stephen Dillane) due to her mental demons. While confined, she sets to work at what will prove to be her most everlasting work, `Mrs. Dalloway'.
The second plot line is set in 1950s suburbia in the United States, where Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) is a housewife who is finding life as a homemaker to be extremely overwhelming, as she simultaneously attempts to bake a birthday cake for her husband (John C. Reilly) and entertain Richard, her clingy son (Jack Rovello).
The third thread is set in modern day New York where editor Clarissa Bell (Meryl Streep) attempts to throw a party in celebration of her dying former lover (Ed Harris) attaining a top poetry award. She, however, feels as though all of her shortcomings have been overexposed by his constant harping and has reached the end of her rope.
To start with, the plot can be summed up in two words-depressingly innovative. Why depressing? Well, a film where two major characters commit suicide can certainly not be called uplifting. As for the innovation, this film echoes `Adaptation' in the fact that there are three separate, yet interconnected plot lines. `The Hours' also goes one better than `Adaptation' by segue-ing between scenes with a character copying the previous character's action.
As for the acting, it was extremely well done. The audience can see that these are full and complete people and not merely figures upon a screen. I especially liked Streep's performance, but truth be told, there was not a poor performance in a bunch.
But if `The Hours' has all this going for it, then why did I not really like it? I offer a couple reasons. Firstly, it employed a repetition of objects in every scene that was frightfully reminiscent of the books I read for AP Lit (movies are for pleasure and not to remind one of work). Also there was that previously mentioned bit about it being a dark film-I went in with a good mood and I left feeling a bit down. A third reason is that it is far from a quick film-it is deliberate in pacing and in turn, seems to take `Hours' to finish. Finally, this is not a male-directed movie and just did not meet my tastes all that much.
In a rare move, I have opted to reward each half of the film-the art side (a.k.a. shameless pandering to the Oscars) which is really what the film aimed at, and the entertainment side. For art, I award a solid 9 but when it comes to entertainment value, I shall give 5 out of 10.
The entire crux of the story is along the lines of `Mrs. Dalloway', a novel written by Virginia Woolf (portrayed here by Nicole Kidman) that focuses on a woman planning a party to disguise her own shortcomings. With that in mind, let us jump feet first into the plot.
The first plot line centers on Virginia Woolf who has been confined in a rest home by her semi-caring husband, Leonard (Stephen Dillane) due to her mental demons. While confined, she sets to work at what will prove to be her most everlasting work, `Mrs. Dalloway'.
The second plot line is set in 1950s suburbia in the United States, where Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) is a housewife who is finding life as a homemaker to be extremely overwhelming, as she simultaneously attempts to bake a birthday cake for her husband (John C. Reilly) and entertain Richard, her clingy son (Jack Rovello).
The third thread is set in modern day New York where editor Clarissa Bell (Meryl Streep) attempts to throw a party in celebration of her dying former lover (Ed Harris) attaining a top poetry award. She, however, feels as though all of her shortcomings have been overexposed by his constant harping and has reached the end of her rope.
To start with, the plot can be summed up in two words-depressingly innovative. Why depressing? Well, a film where two major characters commit suicide can certainly not be called uplifting. As for the innovation, this film echoes `Adaptation' in the fact that there are three separate, yet interconnected plot lines. `The Hours' also goes one better than `Adaptation' by segue-ing between scenes with a character copying the previous character's action.
As for the acting, it was extremely well done. The audience can see that these are full and complete people and not merely figures upon a screen. I especially liked Streep's performance, but truth be told, there was not a poor performance in a bunch.
But if `The Hours' has all this going for it, then why did I not really like it? I offer a couple reasons. Firstly, it employed a repetition of objects in every scene that was frightfully reminiscent of the books I read for AP Lit (movies are for pleasure and not to remind one of work). Also there was that previously mentioned bit about it being a dark film-I went in with a good mood and I left feeling a bit down. A third reason is that it is far from a quick film-it is deliberate in pacing and in turn, seems to take `Hours' to finish. Finally, this is not a male-directed movie and just did not meet my tastes all that much.
In a rare move, I have opted to reward each half of the film-the art side (a.k.a. shameless pandering to the Oscars) which is really what the film aimed at, and the entertainment side. For art, I award a solid 9 but when it comes to entertainment value, I shall give 5 out of 10.