Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
We had a recent review of this film, and now someone’s piped up in response, something I always encourage. It’s a fairly in-depth look at the film, so dig in:
Greetings Moriarty,
I saw "The Hours" at a test screening in New York City about 2 months ago. After reading the early review by "the Spy from Jakarta" I figured that AICN readers needed a smarter take on the film. To better understand the filck I will set it up for you...
In "Shakespeare In Love" several of the comedic situations in the film are classic Shakespeare. You probably didn't "get" any of this had you not read Shakespeare. The same goes for "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back". Without seeing Kevin Smith's previous 4 movies chances are you were lost the second "Jay" and "Silent Bob" walk into "Brodie's Secret Stash".
Like "Shakespeare in Love" before it, watching "The Hours" all but requires you to have read some of Virginia Woolf's work. For the movie to make any sense you really need to read the book "Mrs. Dalloway". To help you understand this review a brief snyopsis of the book will suffice...
"Mrs. Dalloway" is the story of Mrs. Clarissa Dalloway who is preoccupied with the last-minute details of party preparation. As she readies her home for her guests she becomes consumed by memories of her youth and her early loves. At the same time she reexamines the reasons behind her practical marriage and hesitantly looking ahead to the future.
"The Hours" jumps back and forth between the lives of 3 women in 3 different time periods. As the film progresses their lives intersect.
The first of the 3 women is none other than Author Virginia Woolf (played by a nearly unrecognizable Nicole Kidman wearing a prosthetic nose.) Virginia Woolf is depressed and suicidal while writing her masterpiece "Mrs. Dalloway" at this point still called "The Hours." Her husband keeps Virginia away from the city for health reasons but being away from culture and excitement is driving her crazy and causing further depression.
The second woman is Laura Brown (played by Julianne Moore) a post WWII pregnant housewife who is preparing to bake a birthday cake for her husband. Yet she seemingly can't stop reading Mrs. Dalloway. As she reads the book she becomes increasingly convinced to leave her family. When Toni Collette visits a new light is shed and makes it all the more easy to come to a fateful decision.
The third woman is Clarissa Brown (Meryl Streep) a publisher involved in last minute preparations for a party that she is throwing for a friend. The friend is her ex-lover Richard(Ed Harris) who is dying of AIDS. During her visits to him, Richard insists on calling Clarissa "Mrs. Dalloway" for reasons other than the fact that she shares the same name as the main character of the book.
The three women's lives parallel each other either by situation or coincidence. Viewers will find the final intersection either a big surprise or an all too convenient way to end a story. I found it to be the latter.
Suicide, lesbianism, and depression. All of these subjects are treated in an very adult manner. Sadly they are not interesting nor entertaining. Uneven acting and very poor editing is to blame.
Poor editing example? The exchanges between Streep and Harris are so disjointed that many times their performances in the same scene don't match. It's as if they were filmed on completely different days with different direction.Their emotion and reactions look as if they weren't in the same room as the other. Hopefully this was fixed with reshoots and reediting in the final version... But don't bet on it.
As for the music? While the IMDB lists differently, the opening titles clearly say Phillip Glass. I wouldn't be surprised if the music will be replaced in final cut. While the score is good on it's own it feels all the more repetitive as the film plays.
As for audience reaction? When the end credits started to roll a woman next to me finally realized that the Virginia Woolf character was played by Kidman. Sadly it's hard to gauge a good performance from an actor or actress when a film is as poorly edited as this one. So I really can't make a fair judgement as far as performances go. But I didn't like what I saw.
Strong reactions so far. Definitely sounds like a difficult sell for Miramax and Paramount this holiday season. I’m curious now to see what they’ve got up their sleeves.
"Moriarty" out.
