The story revolves around three women in different eras who are all profoundly affected by the works of Virginia Woolf.

Now for the Zone's Eye View:

By Laura Alber

Director: Stephen Daldry

Cast: Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Meryl Streep, Ed Harris, Toni Collette, Claire Danes, Jeff Daniels, Stephen Dillane, Allison Janney, John C. Reilly, Miranda Richardson

I was completely mesmerized with "The Hours". Never before have I seen such an honest and true depiction of women with an inner torture. I have also never seen a movie intertwine three completely different eras by cross-cutting them with strange and fascinating tie-ins to each other. Even with all the trailers, interviews and talk about this film, I still thought it would be a movie with three completely separate stories all told one at a time, and moving on to the next. I was way off base. I was thrilled to find out just how these three women were unexpectedly connected. The story is not told one at a time, but rather flashes back and forth between the three women and shows you exactly how they are linked. By doing the film in this way, you definitely get to know each character so well, and each performance is that much the better for it. The original film by Almodovar was solid, but I believe this remake to be absolutely amazing. The casting was ingenious, Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and Nicole Kidman were at their unequivocal best. This is not a story of depression, but a story of finding happiness and facing demons to free themselves of the darkness.

The opening scene is one not soon to be forgotten. The film begins with Kidman's Virginia Woolf's suicide by showing her walking in a river. This begins the chapters of each woman, what actually drove the famous Woolf to suicide, and the tendencies of the other two women to do the same. After the opening credits finish, we flashback to Woolf's earlier years where she is "imprisoned" in a country home due to her depression. Her loving and concerned husband won't even let her out of the house without him knowing where she is going. She keeps to herself most of the time, her servants are scared of her, and then she finds her "first sentence" and begins writing "Mrs. Dalloway". She is obviously a very independent woman, she feels trapped in this house and longs to return to London. This seems to be the fire that fuels her to write again. There is no definitive reason for her depression, as with the other women, it's just a feeling that something is missing or that they have lost themselves somehow. All the while Woolf is writing her novel, she is also secretly planning her demise hidden in the pages of "Mrs. Dalloway". 

Julianne Moore plays Laura Brown, a pregnant housewife set in the era of the 50's. Laura seems to have everything; a loving husband (played wonderfully by the talented John C. Reilly), an adorable son (Jack Rovello) who is very intuitive for his age as he notices how his mother cries all the time, and seems to watch her very closely. We first see Laura trying to bake a birthday cake for her husband, something "everyone can do" according to friend and neighbor Kitty (Toni Collette), unfortunately Laura finds it more difficult than it should be. You can see the frustrations and general feeling of being miserable on her face and in her actions. The one thing Laura is passionate about is her current novel she's reading, "Mrs. Dalloway". She seems almost obsessed with it, as she sees herself as that character. She also feels there's no way out for her and her unfulfilled life. She takes her son to the babysitter, and checks into a hotel, taking only her assortment of sleeping pills and her book. This isn't the end of her story, but I'll leave a little for you to catch on your own!

Meryl Streep is Clarissa Vaughan, a literary editor in present day. Clarissa is also a lesbian and her lover Sally (Allison Janney) is less than helpful with her "moods". She does love her, but doesn't know what to do to help her. Clarissa's best friend is Richard (Ed Harris) who is dying of AIDS. He has just won a literary prize and Clarissa is planning a huge party for him. Richard affectionately calls Clarissa "Mrs. Dalloway" since she is so much like that character. (FYI: Clarissa is the first name of Mrs. Dalloway in the book also) Clarissa's life seems very off balance, and she seems to hide her pain in parties, and work. Never one to show her emotions, Clarissa finally has a breakdown the day of the party and realizes she will soon be losing her best friend and former lover Richard (way back in their early years) to a terrible disease. She feels like those were the best days of her life, and doesn't see much hope for her future, even though she has an extremely supportive daughter Julia (Claire Danes) and her lover Sally (Janney). 

It's after Clarissa's story that things begin to fall into place as far as how the women are connected. Subtle voice-overs throughout the movie help this as well. There are a few twists that many won't see coming. And, seeing each woman struggle through their battle with life or death is extremely emotional. We've all felt this way at times, and to see it visualized on the screen this well and this accurate makes you feel some kind of relief for yourself…just knowing you're not alone with these kind of feelings and that there is hope. 

The transformation Kidman made to portray Woolf was nothing shy of brilliance. It wasn't just the nose that made her "Virginia", she actually took on her posture, vocal inflections and expressions to match the hallucinations she would have. I did notice that Streep's "Clarissa" even wore the same type of jewelry that Woolf wore, brown dangling earrings and a long brown beaded necklace. So, as you can see, even the smallest detail went into this film. Not only did Clarissa have Mrs. Dalloway's first name, and her best friend nicknaming her after the famous character, but she also seemed to wear loose clothing and similar jewelry. 

The cinematography was beautiful in each era, using the earthy colors for the 20's, browns, yellows and blues for the 50's, and darker blacks and blues for the present day, except for the multitude of flowers Clarissa bought to try and cheer up the somber reality. "The Hours" was a complete surprise to me with its excellence. It definitely deserved all the Golden Globes they won, even though I also loved "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers". Do yourself a huge favor, and take an afternoon or evening and watch this magnificent masterpiece. The Zone highly recommends it, and rates it a 10 out of 10!