The Hours (2002)

The film has turned out to be a splendid work that uses all the resources of cinema to deliver cumulative emotional power that takes viewers by surprise. It singles out the fearlessness of its emotionality, strong performances by Kidman, Streep and Moore, and the way it embraces strong feelings while maintaining intelligence and restraint.

The deeply moving film is an amazingly faithful adaptation of the novel, with Nicole Kidman delivering a performance of astounding bravery as Virginia Woolf that evokes the torment of mental illness as never shown before. It praises the layered, delicate reflection that blends three women's stories across time.

Hare and Daldry have turned the novel into an elegant, intense and perhaps profound drama that will be a major awards player and must-see prestige picture. It succeeds as a rare tear-jerker driven by emotional impact rather than manipulation, with strong performances from the lead actresses.

The film is a sophisticated treat with a complex layering of three women's stories. It praises the outstanding performances, especially Nicole Kidman's, and notes its mainstream arthouse ambitions based on a postmodern novel.

The critic praises the film's excellent acting across the board, clever production design, and empathetic handling of its themes of despair and resilience, calling it a welcome highbrow literary drama about women's interior lives despite some slowness and preciousness.

Considerable intelligence and strategic finesse have been brought to bear on this handsomely mounted adaptation, with fine performances and expert work from the director and cast. It singles out Kidman's brooding, inward portrait of Woolf as especially rewarding, while noting the film feels like a collection of scenes rather than a full synthesis.

The critic describes the film as a daring triptych intercutting the stories of three women across eras, praising the strong, controlled performances especially from Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore while noting reservations about Nicole Kidman's portrayal and a narrative flourish in the ending.

Daldry's adaptation cuts between single days in the lives of three women across the 20th century, suggesting Woolf's insights remain pertinent. It calls out more complex female characters than usual in Hollywood and deems it a boldly realised, affecting work despite minor quibbles with the score and screenplay.

The critic praises the film's direction, writing, and especially the lead performances, highlighting Nicole Kidman's transformative portrayal of Virginia Woolf as particularly special. However, they note that the story ultimately descends into clichéd bohemian melodrama in its modern strand, undermining the thoughtful setup of the three interwoven narratives.

The film meditates on three women's lives linked by Virginia Woolf's novel Mrs. Dalloway, showing how personal freedom expanded over decades but responsibilities and guilts remained. It praises the performances, especially Nicole Kidman's portrayal of Woolf, and the emotional vortex created by the interconnected stories.

The critic finds the film a fascinating and ultimately successful cross-cutting stunt among three eras of women's lives marked by repression and depression. The direction by Daldry and performances by the lead actresses are highlighted as strengths in this muted variant of cross-era storytelling.

The critic dismisses the film as a preposterous faux-feminist manifesto that reduces its women to sudsy abstractions of repression across generations. The screenplay's spoon-fed dialogue and graphic matches come in for particular complaint amid the melodrama.

The critic views The Hours as a masterful, deeply moving contemplation on the passage of time and women's inner lives, far more than mere Oscar bait. The anthology structure and strong performances, particularly Kidman's, are singled out for praise.

The critic states it would be difficult to overestimate the quality of this film, praising the subtle emotional connections woven between the three women's lives across decades through precise editing and insinuation rather than flashbacks or voice-over. Daldry coaxes extraordinary performances from the stellar cast, with particular note of the lead actresses' portrayals of inner turmoil and the supporting roles' impact.

The critic calls The Hours fantastic and a delicate, emotionally harrowing story about depression, longing, and the exhaustion of pretending to be fine. The direction's handling of parallels across timelines and the film's affirmation of life amid bleakness are highlighted.