Self killing, Sexuality, Independence. Review on The Hours Movie

Most Hollywood films show their family likeness pretty early on. Almost from the moment you hear the music you know what genre it is-Western psycho thriller, biopic, romance.

The Story

‘The Hours’ intertwines 3 stories

Virginia Woolf writing Mrs. Dalloway in Richmond, England- 1923

Housewife Laura Brown despairing of life and of motherhood in Los Angeles-1951

Hostess Clarissa Vaughan preparing a party for her oldest friend in contemporary NY.

Whats unique about it?

It does not resemble anything made before.

Its far from being just a conventional women’s picture or heritage cinema.

Its one of the triangular structure movies the best example of it is the ‘Amores Perros’

There are also movies which flash back between historical periods and the present day like the ‘The French Lieutenant’s Woman’(Merryl Streep, Jeremy Irons) which took years to get made.

Critical appreciation

The movie embodies the 2 important elements so frequent in Woolf’s novels.

Stream of consciousness in the form of monologue and direct address

Powerful allure of self killing

The 3 stories are equally compelling and the powerful parallels are there of the devastation of 1st world war. This which echoes among the bourgeosie in Mrs Dalloway is similar to the devastation caused by aids in the gay society of contemporary NY.

At times we do feel that some of the characters are confused about their sexuality but the film makers have avoided the stereotyping of its characters’ sexuality.

Virginia’s mental state is captured in the right mood in just in a matter of a few hours when her sister Vanessa Bell visits her with her children.

Her husband, Leonard’s anxiety surrounding her and her yearning for a London life.

In her passionate forceful kissing of her sister is the display of a fragment out of her life.

Vanessa and Virginia were sexually abused by their brothers in childhood. Virginia had a very profound relationship with authoress Vita Sackville West.

The story of Laura Browne, played by Julianne Moore is that of a confused house wife.

She is bored with a mundane life and with a husband who is happy go lucky if not insensitive. The young Richard Browne who watches her mom kiss her friend grows up to be a famous gay author.

Ed Harris as Richard is just fantastic. Thoughts of ‘Septimus Smith’(a Virginia Woolf Character) committing suicide strikes you as the AIDS affected Richard kills himself.

The Story of Laura and Clarissa Vaughan (Merryl Streep) intersect each other. Just as Richard calls Clarissa, Mrs. Dalloway we find that she is yet to consider her friendship with Sally. Her daughter Julia whose father Clarissa has never met is played by Claire Danes. We find out in this story that Richard’s mother had abandoned her children to pursue an independent life. Richard her son similarly abandons this world.

What is delicate in this film is Richard and Clarissa’s friendship which borderlines on love which is revisited when Louis, a former lover of Richard comes to visit her.

The Connectivites

3 people attempts self killing-

Virginia Woolf- drowning herself

Laura Brown- Trying to take overdose of pills.

Richard- Throwing himself from his apartment window.

The first and the last succeed in their attempt.

In all the 3 stories we find preparations of invitations.

The 3 kisses between women.

There may be more.

What this movie achieved you all might be knowing. To understand the movie more try reading ‘Mrs. Dalloway’

My favorite quote in the movie:

“Dear Leonard, to look life in the face, always to look life in the face, and to know what it is, to love it for what it is. At last to know it. To love it for what it is. And then to put it away.”

Watch the movie to know how the characters follow this.