The Hours

When I'm in the mood I write brief thoughts on films in notebooks which then get transferred to my bag where they get forgotten. Well, I dug them out and I'm going to transcribe and tidy up those thoughts because I'm sure it'll be worth it...maybe.

The Hours (2002)

Usually I detest films like this: worthy films that win Oscars. The Academy voters haven't got a clue about subtlety and think films like Crash and Brokeback Mountain are profound and groundbreaking but I reckon if this was in Swedish, it would be on many people's best film ever lists.

It is an intelligent film and the cinematic equivalent of a literary novel which, in fact, it literally is and there is quite a lot in this film that I find weak:

• Clarissa is unnecessarily unhappy and it is annoying that she can't appreciate what she has - after all her partner is CJ, I mean Allison Janney, so what is the matter with Clarissa?
• Virgina's nose is distracting. Actually the nose is okay, it's really the makeup hiding the prosthetic on Nicole Kidman's face that is distracting. The ageing makeup is pretty ropey too.
• The kiss between Virginia and Vanessa freaks me out. They're sisters!

But what makes The Hours brilliant is Laura Brown's story and the stunning performance by Julianne Moore (honestly, this woman is wonderful - in part because of the range of roles that she takes - I hate the word brave when applied to actors but I think she is often just that). With the scene with Toni Collette (another amazing actor) factored in, Laura's story is the most compelling, moving and heartbreaking in 21st century cinema. The Oscars are nonsense - long gone are the days when I thought they were a sign of quality - but when you think that Catherine Zeta-Jones (who I like) won an Oscar over Julianne then that proves the Oscars are UTTER nonsense. And...ha ha...Chicago was voted best picture over this as well - oh dear, oh dear.

The score is also wonderful.