The Hours
To begin with - The Hours is one of my all-time favorite films. The last time I watched it, however, was over two years ago, so I thought it was worth a re-watch and it definitely was.
The Hours is a movie about a lot of things. It could be about three suicide attempts, two of them being successful. It could be a story about traumatic childhood experiences reemerging in adulthood, or even the importance of mental health in women and minorities. Perhaps it's about three versions of Mrs. Dalloway - the perfect hostess with the perfect life and perfect husband and perfect...everything, except for being alone and locked away from the love she desires.
The movie begins with Virginia Woolf, and through her story, we learn of her home life and mental instability. She passionately kisses her sister, Vanessa, who passionately kisses her back. Even though Virginia has so many things going for her - her own room, a loving and successful husband, a wonderful house and a writing room - but is still wholly depressed by being unable to pursue the love she wants, whether that be her sister or another female lover. Similarly, Laura kisses Kitty, who does not reciprocate. However, Laura seems to really enjoy the kiss and is unable to get it out of her mind. After baking two cakes for her husband's birthday and feeling like neither are good enough, Laura decides to end her life. She eventually drops Richie off at a babysitter's house so that she can go to a hotel and escape from her life, but once she wakes up from her drug-induced stupor, she decides not to go through with the suicide.
In the third story, we find Clarissa and her friend, Richard, who is dying of AIDS and has written an award-winning book. The two reminisce over their shared past together, and he speaks about how he loves her. It seems that Clarissa wants to agree, but is unable to as she is tied to Sally, her long-term partner. Richard says is really only alive for her. We find out later in the movie that Clarissa's Richard is also Laura's son, Richie. The memory Richard has of Laura leaving her family progressed and eventually may have played a role in his suicide. Richard was unable to unwind his complex feelings about his mother from his suicidal intentions of wanting to die.
The memories Richard has of his mother obviously stir up strong feelings: he was traumatized when his mother left him, his sister, and father behind. Laura justified herself, saying that staying would have been death, but she chose life by leaving. Laura did not regret what she chose, even though that may have resulted in the deaths of her husband, Dan, and their daughter. She did what she needed to do to stay alive, which, unfortunately, was quite detrimental to Richard and his entire upbringing. Laura's leaving may have been the beginning of Richard's emotional downfall.
Woolf also hints towards painful memories In her suicide note to her husband, she writes, "I feel certain I am going mad again. I feel we can't go through another of those terrible times. And I shan't recover this time." She knows that "things get better with time," as hinted by her use of the words "again" and "another." However, because her depression is so intense, Woolf perhaps unconsciously gives into her memory. Because she knew how bad her mental breakdown was the first time, Woolf decides to not go through again. Her entire suicide note is poignant and heartbreaking, especially the line, "If anybody could have saved me it would have been you."
Although music does not seem to make an appearance, poetry plays a large role in Woolf's life. Though she is best known for her book, Mrs. Dalloway, Woolf also wrote a multitude of poems that demonstrate her adeptness with words as well as her ability to arrange words beautifully. Perhaps this was her "heroin," the way piano music transported Sonny to another more peaceful place. Perhaps Woolf wrote to escape the confines of her mental illness.
These three characters, Virginia Woolf, Laura Brown, and Richard Brown, struggle with the idea that their lives will continue day after day after day unless they do something to stop it. Virginia Woolf herself struggles with her novel - she is unsure whether or not she will have Mrs. Dalloway kill herself in her novel, and this shows a lot of what Virginia herself struggled with as well.
The Hours is a movie about a lot of things. It could be about three suicide attempts, two of them being successful. It could be a story about traumatic childhood experiences reemerging in adulthood, or even the importance of mental health in women and minorities. Perhaps it's about three versions of Mrs. Dalloway - the perfect hostess with the perfect life and perfect husband and perfect...everything, except for being alone and locked away from the love she desires.
The movie begins with Virginia Woolf, and through her story, we learn of her home life and mental instability. She passionately kisses her sister, Vanessa, who passionately kisses her back. Even though Virginia has so many things going for her - her own room, a loving and successful husband, a wonderful house and a writing room - but is still wholly depressed by being unable to pursue the love she wants, whether that be her sister or another female lover. Similarly, Laura kisses Kitty, who does not reciprocate. However, Laura seems to really enjoy the kiss and is unable to get it out of her mind. After baking two cakes for her husband's birthday and feeling like neither are good enough, Laura decides to end her life. She eventually drops Richie off at a babysitter's house so that she can go to a hotel and escape from her life, but once she wakes up from her drug-induced stupor, she decides not to go through with the suicide.
In the third story, we find Clarissa and her friend, Richard, who is dying of AIDS and has written an award-winning book. The two reminisce over their shared past together, and he speaks about how he loves her. It seems that Clarissa wants to agree, but is unable to as she is tied to Sally, her long-term partner. Richard says is really only alive for her. We find out later in the movie that Clarissa's Richard is also Laura's son, Richie. The memory Richard has of Laura leaving her family progressed and eventually may have played a role in his suicide. Richard was unable to unwind his complex feelings about his mother from his suicidal intentions of wanting to die.
The memories Richard has of his mother obviously stir up strong feelings: he was traumatized when his mother left him, his sister, and father behind. Laura justified herself, saying that staying would have been death, but she chose life by leaving. Laura did not regret what she chose, even though that may have resulted in the deaths of her husband, Dan, and their daughter. She did what she needed to do to stay alive, which, unfortunately, was quite detrimental to Richard and his entire upbringing. Laura's leaving may have been the beginning of Richard's emotional downfall.
Woolf also hints towards painful memories In her suicide note to her husband, she writes, "I feel certain I am going mad again. I feel we can't go through another of those terrible times. And I shan't recover this time." She knows that "things get better with time," as hinted by her use of the words "again" and "another." However, because her depression is so intense, Woolf perhaps unconsciously gives into her memory. Because she knew how bad her mental breakdown was the first time, Woolf decides to not go through again. Her entire suicide note is poignant and heartbreaking, especially the line, "If anybody could have saved me it would have been you."
Although music does not seem to make an appearance, poetry plays a large role in Woolf's life. Though she is best known for her book, Mrs. Dalloway, Woolf also wrote a multitude of poems that demonstrate her adeptness with words as well as her ability to arrange words beautifully. Perhaps this was her "heroin," the way piano music transported Sonny to another more peaceful place. Perhaps Woolf wrote to escape the confines of her mental illness.
These three characters, Virginia Woolf, Laura Brown, and Richard Brown, struggle with the idea that their lives will continue day after day after day unless they do something to stop it. Virginia Woolf herself struggles with her novel - she is unsure whether or not she will have Mrs. Dalloway kill herself in her novel, and this shows a lot of what Virginia herself struggled with as well.
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