serves as something of a master class in acting, thanks to the exquisite performances of Streep, Moore, Kidman and Harris and the outstanding supporting cast...
Comment
01/05/03
The Hours (2002)
81
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:185
Fresh:149
Rotten:36
Average Rating:7.4/10
Consensus: The movie may be a downer, but it packs an emotional wallop. Some fine acting on display here.
Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Based on the Pulitzer-prize winning novel by Michael Cunningham, THE HOURS employs Virginia Woolf's classic novel and central character, MRS. DALLOWAY, as its foundation and inspiration. Spanning... [More]
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, Toni Collette
Director: Stephen Daldry
Reviews for The Hours
141 - 160 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Brings awareness to an issue often overlooked -- women's depression.
01/05/03
The Hours is a prime example of the need for an Academy Award honoring a movie's cast rather than individual performances.
01/05/03
So self-conscious of how important it is supposed to be, it never blinks, never smiles, never lets you forget that it is dealing with Deep, Important Issues.
01/05/03
A beautiful meditation on the life force and redemptive power of literature -- for writers and readers alike -- and on what it means to be fully alive, navigating the rocky terrain between vision and execution.
01/05/03
A masterful piece of work whose emotional resonance is so natural, you wonder why more films can't accomplish it.
01/04/03
A smart, thoughtful, Oscar-bait movie.
01/03/03
I found the film, directed by Stephen Daldry from a screenplay by David Hare, excruciatingly flat-footed, with one of the most exasperating scores (by Philip Glass) ever written.
01/02/03
There's been so much talk about the fact that [Kidman] wears this prosthetic device you know so that you can't even recognize her. But beyond that it's just a really good performance.
12/30/02
One of those insufferable, dull, pseudo-literary pieces of sludge that elitists mistake for cinematic genius because of the cultured names involved.
12/30/02
This film is so good on so many levels that it is hard to pick the best part.
12/30/02
Quite simply, the best film of the year: daring, risky and straight from the heart.
12/28/02
Theater-trained Stephen Daldry acquits himself admirably, and the film contains some lovely grace notes courtesy of the uniformly fine actresses.
12/27/02
It takes extraordinary actors to make a movie like this work, and The Hours is blessed with an abundance of them.
12/27/02
A film that's fuller and deeper than the book.
12/27/02
Some fine acting, but ultimately a movie with no reason for being.
12/27/02
A movie that makes this season's competing dramas of despondency feel like a sunny Saturday afternoon picnic in the park.
12/27/02
I'm sure mainstream audiences will be baffled, but, for those with at least a minimal appreciation of Woolf and Clarissa Dalloway, The Hours represents two of those well spent.
12/27/02
This complex, multi-story, multi-era and quietly breathtaking film speaks universal truths that unite the genders even while recognizing the fundamental differences between us.
12/27/02
For a movie audience, The Hours doesn't connect in a neat way, but introduces characters who illuminate mysteries of sex, duty and love.
12/27/02
Top CriticLatest News for The Hours
May 05, 2008:
Kidman tipped to play Dusty 
Nicole Kidman has been tapped to play the bee-hived chanteuse, Dusty Springfield, in a biopic to be written by Michael Cunningham, who she worked with for The Hours. More...
June 21, 2006:
Natalie Portman Aboard "Boleyn" and "Kavalier"
The universally-adored and very cute Natalie Portman seems to have a pretty high profile pair of freshly-inked contracts. On one hand, she'll be starring in a historical drama... More...
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