The Hours (2002)

Director:

Stephen Daldry

Writers (WGA):

Michael Cunningham (novel)
David Hare (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 January 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Three Different Women. Each Living a Lie.

Plot:

The story of how the novel "Mrs. Dalloway" affects three generations of women, all of whom, in one way or another, have had to deal with suicide in their lives.

Plot Keywords:

Novel | Party | Reading | Lesbian | Publisher

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 30 wins & 67 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Nicole Kidman	...	Virginia Woolf
Julianne Moore	...	Laura Brown
Meryl Streep	...	Clarissa Vaughan
Stephen Dillane	...	Leonard Woolf
Miranda Richardson	...	Vanessa Bell
George Loftus	...	Quentin Bell
Charley Ramm	...	Julian Bell
Sophie Wyburd	...	Angelica Bell
Lyndsey Marshal	...	Lottie Hope (as Lyndsay Marshal)
Linda Bassett	...	Nelly Boxall
Christian Coulson	...	Ralph Partridge
Michael Culkin	...	Doctor
John C. Reilly	...	Dan Brown
Jack Rovello	...	Richie Brown
Toni Collette	...	Kitty

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements, some disturbing images and brief language.

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Denmark:11 (DVD rating) | Iceland:12 | Malaysia:U | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating) | Philippines:PG-13 | New Zealand:M | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:AL | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Korea:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Bern) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39136)

Filming Locations:

Biltmore Hotel - 1200 Anastasia Avenue, Coral Gables, Florida, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The book that we see Leonard Woolf printing is T.S. Eliot's "The Wasteland".

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Laura picks up Mrs. Dalloway from the floor next to her bed, there are six novels in total. Two of the other books are 'Melbourne' by Lord David Cecil and 'Under the Net' by Iris Murdoch, both literary classics. The only problem is she could never have read them: both books were published in 1954.

Quotes:

Clarissa Vaughn: When I'm with him I feel... Yes, I am living. And when I'm not with him... Yes, everything does seem sort of silly.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 81st Annual Academy Awards (2009) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Metamorphosis 2

More than an average movie

"The Hours" is an extremely intelligent movie. It's deep and sensitive and the script is something different for a change. The acting couldn't get any better. EVERY role was casted perfectly. I never really liked Nicole Kidman but she is a fantastic actress and at the moment she just chooses the right roles. She definitely deserved the Oscar. Juliane Moore is amazing, too. I wonder if there is any genre she can't do. And then, there's Meryl Streep. Will this woman ever stop being great? I mean after all the great movies she's been in in the 80's, she's still making exceptional films such as "Adaptation" and "The Hours", whereas other actors who were great 10 years ago pretty much lost it today *cough*Pacino*cough*DeNiro*cough, cough*. The director did a wonderful job and the score is another big plus of this movie. The haunting music underlines the depressing all around atmosphere and lets one feel how miserable these main characters are all the time. At times I felt like these women's sadness was explained too little, though. Maybe that's manly ignorance but I couldn't totally figure out why Juliane Moore's character was so depressed all the time. It was a little annoying that she never stopped crying and you couldn't tell why. I paid attention and I did try reading between the lines but that was a mystery to me. Probably just a personal problem. All in all I think this is the 2nd best movie of 2003's Oscar movies (1st being "The Pianist", 3rd "About Schmidt").