The story centers on three women living in three different generations whose lives are connected in different ways to each other.  We are first introduced to Virginia Woolf, played by an unrecognizable Nicole Kidman.  She is obviously a deeply emotionally troubled writer who is beginning to write one of her great novels called Mrs. Dalloway.  Next there is Laura Brown, played by Julianne Moore, who seems to have the ideal life in the fifties with the perfect husband, the perfect house, and the perfect child.  However, we soon find out that she is not only a very depressed and lonely individual, but also a woman who seems to be questioning her own sexuality.  Then there is the modern day Clarissa Vaughan played by Meryl Streep.  Clarissa is a bisexual woman living with another woman but whose life seems to be centered on taking care of a man dying of aids played by the always terrific Ed Harris.

      The three main women are thematically linked by different threads which I won't discuss here in order to not give away any of the plot.  However, suffice to say that it is Woolf's novel Mrs. Dalloway which is the central piece that bonds the three stories together.  The film also deals with suicide and it is heavily filled with gay and lesbian themes.  As the story moves along to the end, the basic plotline deals with all these characters trying to cope with their internal demons.

As I stated earlier, the most impressive thing about this film is the superb acting.  Kidman, Moore, and Streep all give their usual terrific and moving performances.  And Ed Harris is not to be overlooked for his brave and magnificent portrayal of a guy dying of aids and not really living anymore.  I also want to give praise to many of the other actors in smaller parts such as Toni Collette, Allison Janney, and Jeff Daniels who all add effective characters to the story.   The narrative of the film is complex as it moves back and forth seamlessly between the various stories.  The direction here is very good as the director is able to effortlessly go back and forth between the stories being told during different times and at different places.

      So, I gotta ask myself why I didn't like this film as much as I thought I should.  The biggest problem with this movie is that while it has very complex material and is very intelligent, it just didn't have the emotional connection that is not only required of a film like this, it demands it.  While the characters were all very complex and interesting, this film needs the audience to bond with at least one of them, if not most of them.  And that just didn't happen for me.  I felt bored at times watching this film and left the theatre thinking that there needed to be more to this film, especially on an emotional level.

      So, this is a hard film for me to judge.  Maybe if I had read Woolf's Mrs Dalloway, I would have had a better appreciation for the characters and a more positive reaction to this film.  This one easily gets a top rating for the acting, the story and the direction, but it gets low marks for the lack emotional impact to get the audience to care and bond with these three characters.

     -- Mike ( 2 1/2 out of 4 pops )

Talk about this film with other Popkorn Junkies

       Billy Ray ( 2 1/2 out of 4 pops )

       I couldn't help but be slightly disappointed with "The Hours", the new critically acclaimed film that racked up on Golden Globe night and seems poised to do the same come Oscar night. I guess I was expecting something extraordinary--a film of monumental power, but was instead dealt an emotional melodrama that really didn't tie itself together as well as I had hoped. Sure, each and every performance is powerful and pitch perfect, but I just felt a little cheated. We never really know why Julianne Moore and Meryl Streep are so damn unhappy. They have loving partners, wonderful children--but still sulk around the screen and seem poised on suicide. Why are they so unhappy? It seemed to me they really had no good reason. The only person who had a reason for being down in the dumps was Nicole Kidman, as Virginia Woolf--but she had mental issues. Director Stephen Daldry tried for something I don't think he really achieved. The movie seemed like it only lasted ninety minutes, and I am a firm believer than ninety minutes is not enough time to tell a story of this magnitude (I know, the running time was actually around an hour and forty-five, but that is still too short). I guess I just expected and needed more.