--- title: "The Hours: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-hours/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-hours" critics_score: 75 critics_reviews: 15 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Hours (2002): what the critics said Critics' score 75 from 15 reviews: 14 positive, 0 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics admire The Hours, and the praise gathers in the same places. The three lead performances are singled out almost everywhere, with Nicole Kidman’s inward, brooding Virginia Woolf the one most often named as the film’s finest work. Beyond the acting, reviewers credit Stephen Daldry and David Hare with turning a difficult, layered novel into a drama that moves people through precise editing and quiet parallels rather than flashbacks or voice-over, and several remark that the tears it draws feel earned rather than engineered. The reservations are modest and scattered. Some find it slow and a little precious; Variety thinks it plays as a collection of fine scenes rather than a whole, and Empire feels the modern strand slides into melodrama. The Guardian is cooler than most on Kidman and on a flourish in the ending. The spread is narrow, with one outright dissenter: Slant dismisses the film as a faux-feminist manifesto with spoon-fed dialogue. ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 27 December 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. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-dec-27-et-turan27-story.html) ## The New York Times — Stephen Holden Rating NYT Critic’s Pick. 27 December 2002. 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. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/27/movies/27HOUR.html) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 13 December 2002. 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. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/the-hours/4011577.article) ## Sight and Sound — Sheila Johnston Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 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. [Read the review](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/feature/24) ## The Times — Barbara Ellen Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 13 February 2003. 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. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/europe-travel/italy/the-hours-death-in-venice-xz7rgd0xld8) ## Variety — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 10 December 2002. 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. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2002/film/awards/the-hours-3-1200544436/) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 14 February 2003. 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. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2003/feb/14/artsfeatures) ## Time Out — TCh Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 17 November 2015. 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. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-hours) ## Empire — William Thomas Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 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. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/hours-review/) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 27 December 2002. 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. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-hours-2002) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Kirk Honeycutt Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 27 December 2017. 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. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/hours-review-2002-movie-1070395/) ## Slant Magazine — Ed Gonzalez Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 17 December 2002. 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. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-hours/) ## Collider — Liam Gaughan Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 14 January 2023. 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. [Read the review](https://collider.com/the-hours-nicole-kidman/) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 28 January 2003. 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. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-hours-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) ## Paste — Lacy Baugher Milas Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 26 December 2022. 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. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/nicole-kidman/the-hours-nicole-kidman-virginia-woolf) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-hours.md