The Hours (2002)

Directed by

Stephen Daldry

Genre

drama film, LGBTQ-related film

Country

United Kingdom, United States

Runtime

1h 54m

Rated

PG-13

Rating

7.3 of 10 from 1,877 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

Three women in different time periods are connected by Virginia Woolf's novel Mrs Dalloway. In 1920s England, Woolf writes the novel while struggling with mental health. In 1950s California, a pregnant housewife feels trapped in her marriage. In 2001 New York, a woman plans a party for her friend who is dying of AIDS.

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What happens

The Hours is a 2002 psychological period drama film directed by Stephen Daldry from a screenplay by David Hare, based on the 1998 novel by Michael Cunningham. It stars Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, and Meryl Streep as three women whose lives are connected by Virginia Woolf's 1925 novel Mrs Dalloway. In 2001 New York, Clarissa Vaughan (Streep) prepares an award party for her AIDS-stricken friend and poet, Richard (Ed Harris). In 1951 California, Laura Brown (Moore) is a pregnant housewife in an unhappy marriage. In 1920s England, Virginia Woolf (Kidman) battles with depression while writing Mrs Dalloway. Supporting roles are played by Ed Harris, John C. Reilly, Stephen Dillane, Jeff Daniels, Miranda Richardson, Allison Janney, Toni Collette, Claire Danes, and Eileen Atkins. The Hours premiered in Los Angeles and New York City on Christmas Day 2002 and was given a limited release by Paramount Pictures in the United States two days later, with Miramax International releasing in other territories, before expanding in January 2003. A commercial success, it grossed $108.8 million on a $25 million production budget, and received generally favorable reviews with praise towards the performances of the lead trio. At the 75th Academy Awards, it received nine nominations, including Best Picture, with Kidman winning Best Actress. The film and novel were adapted into an opera in 2022. In 2025, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant." (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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• Vita and Virginia (2018)
• A Single Man (2009)
• Far from Heaven (2002)
• Virginia Woolf's Night and Day (2026)
• Tell It to the Bees (2018)
• My Policeman (2022)
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