The Hours (PG-13, 2003)

In this story of three women of different eras whose lives connect and parallel each other, we see each of them struggle between despair and meaning. Author Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman) has moved to the country to cure her depression. She is looking forward to a visit from her sister (Miranda Richardson), longing to return to London, and writing a book called Mrs. Dalloway about one day in the life of a woman who is giving a party. Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) is a post-WWII suburban mother pregnant with her second child. It is her husband's birthday and she is trying to make a cake for his celebration. Clarissa Vaughn (Meryl Streep) is a present-day editor who is preparing a party for Richard (Ed Harris). He is a poet and novelist who is receiving a prestigious award. But he is very sick with AIDS and may not make it to the ceremony or the party. Richard's nickname for Clarissa is "Mrs. Dalloway" because she shares her first name with the title character. Like Mrs. Dalloway, all three women get flowers. And, like her, all three share an emotional kiss with another woman. And all three try to find something to hold on to so that they can feel that their lives are worthwhile.

THE HOURS is a smart, thoughtful, Oscar-bait movie, beautifully directed by Steven Daldry and beautifully performed by Streep, Kidman, Moore, and supporting actors Harris, Claire Danes, and Toni Collette. Some audiences may find it pretentious, disturbing, or boring, but others will appreciate its subtlety and willingness to grapple with existential questions.

The Pulitzer-prize winning novel by Michael Cunningham is, according to the author, a tribute to Woolf's view that "there are no ordinary lives, just inadequate ways of looking at them." He says, too, that Woolf "spent her career writing the extraordinary, epic tales of people who seem to be doing nothing unusual at all. If most great writers scan the heavens like astrophysicists, Woolf looked penetratingly at the very small, like a microbiologist. Through her books, we understand that the workings of atomic particles are every bit as mysterious as the workings of galaxies - it all depends on whether you look out or look in."

Studio: Paramount Pictures
Director: Stephen Daldry
Cast: Julianne Moore, Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman
Genre: Drama
Run time: 111 minutes
Theatrical release: January 10, 2003
DVD release: June 24, 2003
MPAA Rating: PG-13
MPAA explanation: mature thematic elements, some disturbing images, and brief language