Every
time I watch The Hours, I'm blown away by how rich and layered it is,
so that one can't absorb it all in a single viewing. Each time I come
away with a new discovery or opinion. I didn't realize until last night
that the blue robe worn by Ed Harris is very similar to the bedspread
of his childhood.
Films that jump around in time and place can often end up a confusing mess, like Julianne's cake. At the hands of a caring expert like director Stephen Daldry it can be heavenly. Unfortunately he had to be up against Roman Polanski for the Oscar, but he deserves one as well. The impressive acting talent assembled makes each scene a work of art unto itself, yet interweaves beautifully within the tapestry of the tale.
Trying to live up to other's expectations is exhausting, and Julianne and little Richie's pain was almost unbearable to watch. Suffocating in 1950's stay-at-home motherhood and feeling like an alien, she appears to have it all, but it's just an appearance, as it is with all the women.
"We're going to make a cake, to show your father how much we love him."
"Otherwise he wouldn't know we love him?" "That's right."
Films that jump around in time and place can often end up a confusing mess, like Julianne's cake. At the hands of a caring expert like director Stephen Daldry it can be heavenly. Unfortunately he had to be up against Roman Polanski for the Oscar, but he deserves one as well. The impressive acting talent assembled makes each scene a work of art unto itself, yet interweaves beautifully within the tapestry of the tale.
Trying to live up to other's expectations is exhausting, and Julianne and little Richie's pain was almost unbearable to watch. Suffocating in 1950's stay-at-home motherhood and feeling like an alien, she appears to have it all, but it's just an appearance, as it is with all the women.
"We're going to make a cake, to show your father how much we love him."
"Otherwise he wouldn't know we love him?" "That's right."
Her
little boy played by Joey Ravello is so dang cute he makes me want to
have one. And I will, as soon as they come up with a way to
freeze kids in the cute stage, otherwise they grow up writing
bitter, tell-all books and jumping out of seedy hotel room windows.
Cute little Bug is already displaying some of the mother's neuroses and stays inside wearing his pajamas all day, so you know this isn't gonna end well. When neighbor Toni Collette knocks on the door, they both panic and spend so much time fussin' that she finally has to open it and peer in. Toni is Kitty, a perky attractive friend who has just learned about a possibly malignant growth which has prevented her from getting pregnant. Through it all, the radiant smile rarely leaves her face.
A lot has been speculated about the way Laura kisses her. Is she bisexual or lesbian? I don't know. Although many of the characters are (another common theme), their sexual orientation isn't really important in context. I saw it as an expression of Laura's overwhelming love and concern for her friend, and attempt to make a human connection of some kind. John C. Reilly is a good man and ideal husband on the surface, but he really has no clue who his wife is. He's in love with his "idea" of Laura, and all three of them are like robotic strangers to each other.
It seems to be saying that most of us would be better off alone instead of expending so much energy trying to be someone we are not, and I have to agree, but I don't know if others would. Meryl nags Ed Harris constantly about things that don't matter to him. Julianne's husband nags her to "come to bed." Leonard nags Virginia about eating, and going to bed, and even being nice to the servants until she can't take it anymore. Their scene at the train depot is another gut wrencher. He desperately tries to stop Virginia from leaving, as if his life depended on it. He believes that he can control her and therefore keep her alive, but she finally has to set him straight. "You cannot find peace by avoiding life, Leonard."
Both Meryl and Julianne have crying scenes while struggling desperately to sound cheerful, similar to Kitty and her brilliant smile. There are several common themes throughout, but the central one is Virginia's book Mrs. Dalloway. When Leonard and Virginia sit by a fire in a rare moment of domestic tranquility, he questions her about the novel's characters.
"Who dies? Why must they die?" he asks.
"Someone must die so the rest will value life more. It's contrast."
Cute little Bug is already displaying some of the mother's neuroses and stays inside wearing his pajamas all day, so you know this isn't gonna end well. When neighbor Toni Collette knocks on the door, they both panic and spend so much time fussin' that she finally has to open it and peer in. Toni is Kitty, a perky attractive friend who has just learned about a possibly malignant growth which has prevented her from getting pregnant. Through it all, the radiant smile rarely leaves her face.
A lot has been speculated about the way Laura kisses her. Is she bisexual or lesbian? I don't know. Although many of the characters are (another common theme), their sexual orientation isn't really important in context. I saw it as an expression of Laura's overwhelming love and concern for her friend, and attempt to make a human connection of some kind. John C. Reilly is a good man and ideal husband on the surface, but he really has no clue who his wife is. He's in love with his "idea" of Laura, and all three of them are like robotic strangers to each other.
It seems to be saying that most of us would be better off alone instead of expending so much energy trying to be someone we are not, and I have to agree, but I don't know if others would. Meryl nags Ed Harris constantly about things that don't matter to him. Julianne's husband nags her to "come to bed." Leonard nags Virginia about eating, and going to bed, and even being nice to the servants until she can't take it anymore. Their scene at the train depot is another gut wrencher. He desperately tries to stop Virginia from leaving, as if his life depended on it. He believes that he can control her and therefore keep her alive, but she finally has to set him straight. "You cannot find peace by avoiding life, Leonard."
Both Meryl and Julianne have crying scenes while struggling desperately to sound cheerful, similar to Kitty and her brilliant smile. There are several common themes throughout, but the central one is Virginia's book Mrs. Dalloway. When Leonard and Virginia sit by a fire in a rare moment of domestic tranquility, he questions her about the novel's characters.
"Who dies? Why must they die?" he asks.
"Someone must die so the rest will value life more. It's contrast."
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| "I think I'm only staying alive to satisfy you." "Well, that is what people do. They stay alive for each other. The doctors said you could live like this for years." "Well, exactly!" | "What about your own life? What about Sally?" "Who?" |
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| "If I were thinking clearly, Leonard, then I would tell you that I wrestle alone, in the dark, in the deep dark, and only I can know, only I can understand my own condition. You tell me you live with the threat of my extinction. Well, I live with it too." | "This is my right. It's the right of every human being. I choose not the suffocating anesthetic of the suburbs, but the violent jolt of the capitol. That is my choice. The meanest and the lowest is allowed some say in the matter, thereby she defines her humanity." |
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| "I had an idea of our happiness. It's what kept me alive." | |
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| "Are you coming to bed honey?" | "Virginia, are you coming to bed?" |
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