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Even though this film is based primarily on a Pulitzer-prize winning novel by Michael Cunningham, "The Hours" portrays Virginia Woolf's own later life as well as bits of Woolf's novel & protagonist, "Mrs. Dalloway." Nicole Kidman won the Oscar for Best Actress; but it had to have been difficult for the Academy to choose between her, Meryl Streep, and Julianne Moore, because all of three actors gave stellar performances of women living in three different eras. When it comes down to it though, Kidman IS Virginia Woolf (1882-1941). Her role as the bisexual passivist during WWII tells the story of the greatest English novelist of the 20th century. Suffering from bi-polar disorder, in all likelihood, in March of 1941, with the Germans just 7 miles from their Jewish (by marriage) door, Woolf/Kidman fills her coat pockets with stones and walks into the river to kill herself rather than suffer another psychological break down or at the mercy of the Nazis. Suicide, which is what Woolf/Kidman committed, is the theme that connects all three women together spanning three different eras. Moore plays a pregnant mother with a small son who is socially isolated, virtually taken for granted by her husband, and is severely depressed. Moore takes me to the brink of believing that she's actually going to take her own and her unborn baby's life, leaving her young son motherless. She's got a plan, she's carrying it out, and she's laying in a hotel room ready to die. Streep plays Woolf's immortalized character, Mrs. Dalloway--in modern times. She's a lesbian whose ex-husband is a gay man dying of AIDS. Mrs. Dalloway is the Martha Stewart perfectionist party host who is bent on throwing a party for her ex-husband. But he's dying and in no mood for a party, even at Streep's home. He too is on the brink of taking his own life rather than live through more of a slow torturous death. This was the Best Picture winner at the Golden Globe Awards.Read full review
Love this movie, and it's triple slices of life based on Virginia Woolf's story "Mrs. Dalloway" who wants to commit suicide. Watching a 1920s Woolf write with a fountain pen and staining her fingers while living a pretty depressed existence in the country outside of London, portrayed by a larger-nose-job-altered Nicole Kidman in a VERY plain role was truly moving. Then, curiously, updated to another era, a 1950s unhappy Mom, Julianne Moore, is reading the story and reliving it, wanting to commit suicide herself. And lastly, updated again to modern day, Meryl Streep who is nicknamed Mrs. Dalloway by her "ex"--the dying of AIDs Ed Harris, a writer himself, who does commit suicide, and then we find out at the end that the 1950s Julianne Moore character was his own mother who abandoned him rather than commit suicide herself! Whew! Well, I just gave away the whole film--but maybe that will entice you to want to watch it, rather than try to figure it out as it moves along. Talk about some fine actors! How could it be anything but worth watching? Though I would have to say it's more a woman's film, and rather deep, so not for folks who merely want to be entertained lightly. Definitely more a psychological study drama.Read full review
This is lacking a good storyline I would not accept this if it were free. A ridiculous waste of money.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Great Movie...top 20!!! The movie is based on the true story of Virginia Woolf but it's based on her book to which it is described in three different eras. If you are a woman who has ever had challenges with the questions of life and feel like you are the only one that has EVER felt that way...this movie makes you feel-right at home. That you are NOT alone and that other woman deal with these peculiar, strange, emotional experiences.
A dark movie well worth watching. Exquisite acting, and amazingly accurate attention to detail to bring the three different periods to life--1920s England, 1951 LA, and 2001. The musical score should have received an Oscar. Establishes Nicole Kidman as one of the great actresses of our time. Validates Meryl Streep as one of the greatest actresses of the age. She is still incredibly beautiful--an ageless wonder.
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