The Hours 2002
This was not a movie I was in a hurry to see, but I remembered it being critically acclaimed. A real bonus for me was the soundtrack, which was composed by Philip Glass, one of my favorites. I figured even if the movie was terrible, I could enjoy the music. While the movie seemed headed towards new depths of depression, it actually took a nice turn part way through and became . . . well, not as depressing.
The movie has some very good strengths, especially in the form of the very strong cast with Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman (who won an Oscar), and Julianne Moore, but there are others including Ed Harris, Alison Janney, and Jeff Daniels. Also I really liked the concept of the movie, which involves three stories taking place during different time periods, but all tied together by a novel that Virginia Woolfe is writing during one of the stories. Something happens in one story, and it may very well happen in the other two.
There are parts I am not so crazy about like Nicole Kidman’s fake nose. And the fact that it is pretty depressing, not least of all because Nicole Kidman kills herself in the opening scene, which I found out later didn’t happen until well after the events of her story. So I enjoyed the movie probably more than I thought. I also enjoyed the music, which I didn’t realize recycled some of my favorite parts of one of his operas.
Written: 08 Apr 2013