Our take
Why do we stay alive? Do we owe it to people to stay alive? Not everyone thinks about these existential questions, and even less are obsessed with them. But the characters in The Hours, who span centuries, do. It’s one of the few things that tie them together, along with female malaise and a love for literature. The film is so seamlessly stitched together, you barely notice when it slips into another era, or speaks to us through another character. It feels natural to jump into different timelines and collect all these different memories and observations, in the same way it feels natural for everything to happen all at once in life. Some reviews claim that, because of the dark themes the film covers, it can be hard to watch, but I don’t think I’ve had an easier time watching anything. The script is poetic, the performances heart-wrenchingly good (what a trio!), and the editing so smooth. This is a thoughtful film through and through, not just in content but in delivery too.
Streaming arrival
What it won
Oscars
1 win · 8 noms
Berlin
3 wins
Golden Globes
7 noms
BAFTA
2 wins · 9 noms
SAG Awards
4 noms
DGA
1 nom
WGA
1 win
Nat. Board of Review
2 wins
LAFCA
1 win · 1 nom
César Awards
1 nom
The story
The story of three women searching for more potent, meaningful lives. Each is alive at a different time and place, all are linked by their yearnings and their fears. Their stories intertwine, and finally come together in a surprising, transcendent moment of shared recognition.
Elsewhere
"Considerable intelligence and strategic finesse have been brought to bear on this handsomely mounted adaptation of Michael Cunningham's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel."
— Todd McCarthy
Follows three women, each from a different decade, as they go about their day and reveal their desires and longing, as well as their pain and sorrows.
I didn’t think Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf would work, but I’m glad to have been proven wrong.
With this caliber of actresses, you shouldn’t expect anything less.
The details
Who picked it
Renee Cuisia is the lead curator at A Good Movie to Watch. In her spare time, she likes to watch K-dramas and analyze them to death. She's also seen You've Got Mail one too many times but is still convinced it's one of the greatest films out there.
