The film presents the portrait of three women who are forced into submission into a life they want to live but must convert into the other, an illusion and force a smile or happy face whether they like it or not because they feel if they admit to what they most desire out of life, everything will come crumbling to pieces. Virginia Woolf played with much skill by Nicole Kidman (Cold Mountain, The Others) is a woman who is forced to live a life as an aristocrat, and in a plot that closely resembles "Citizen Kane" must stay married to a man (Stephen Dillane) she doesn't love despite the fact he gives her everything she desires, even giving her her own printing press to print her books, and a servant staff that look down on her.

She's lonely and is forced to come to grips with her increasing insanity in which she attempts to end with failed suicide attempts. Really, she is a woman who is in love with another woman Vanessa (Miranda Richardson) whom she constantly hopes to be around and begs for love, but alas, she is also in the same situation. The film pictures the view of these adult situations through the eyes of children who gaze upon this mature topic never really saying much but witnessing it whole. The character Vanessa's daughter is fully aware of her mother's secret affair but never really says much and Woolf is left alone once again to write her book Mrs. Dalloway in her large house.

In the most interesting story, Laura Brown, played memorably by Julianne Moore (Far from Heaven, Hannibal), a stay at home mother from the fifties who reads "Mrs. Dalloway with much interest and is forced to come to the revelation that she may be exactly like Woolf with the same desires but compensates for it by working herself to the bone for her inept husband (John C. Riley: The Perfect Storm, Boogie Nights) who is none the wiser of his wife. Once again, she is forced to live a life of illusion and forces a smile at every corner to please her son who witnesses his mother's torture and pain and stick by her regardless.

Her story is the best of the film which often provoked thought about women of that time in the fifties who could never go beyond their roles as housewives or pursue their own desires. There is an excellent scene in which Laura Brown plans to commit suicide and lays on a bed as the room overflows with water, a scene that is so steeped in symbolism its breathtaking. Meryl Streep (Adaptation., Sophie's Choice) plays Clarissa Vaughn, a woman with a basically well off life but cuts off her lover (Allison Janney), and her daughter (Claire Danes) in an attempt to plan a book party for her rapidly dying friend Richard Brown who's death is inevitable but she refuses to see it and continues smiling. Harris gives an excellent performance despite being given a scarce role and manages to make the most impact out of the film. We watch as these women are given two options but are inevitably bound by one, the most secure, but must continue to stare the other option in the face every waking moment of their lives. The climax of the film is surprising as we witness an amazing connection each of the people in the film bear making this more enjoyable.

Nominated with numerous Oscar nods and loads of critical acclaim, "The Hours" prompts me to wonder if the Oscar committee is ever truly apt when nominating films and praising them. Despite some hilarious praise from reports proclaiming Nicole Kidman's turn into less than beautiful as "brave" (It's just a prosthetic nose people!), I realized while watching that "The Hours" is just average and discovered I was very disappointed.

Though the film is set up in an interesting and pretty confusing manner, I realized I didn't care as much as I wanted to. The story constantly switches back and forth from the past to the present and back again with three intertwining tales of women, one of whom is Virginia Woolf who is played very well by Nicole Kidman. It would have been easy to enjoy this movie and think of it as a masterpiece but the story context is so heavily steeped in grim circumstance and hardly interesting situations that it made it very difficult to watch. Virginia Woolf is such a grim person with much silence, but we never truly get the sense of her desperation, nor do we ever feel as if we're in the same boat with her.

I was never able to sympathize for her, only to wonder what she was so angry about. Her portrayal of her dissension into madness and suicidal tendencies is so superficial and often very shallow to the point where the film confuses the audience. All of the characters in the story bear some connection to the often sad and suicidal author/poet including Laura Brown played by Julianne Moore whom I suspected was a lesbian who forced herself to live the illusion of a perfect life which also tended to remind me too much of "Far from Heaven" in which she's forced to live a life that she's not happy with, but nonetheless the end result of the story isn't pleasant and is a sure time of the signs then.

Meryl Streep has the least interesting story of the bunch as she forces herself to plan a party for an ailing friend who is dying from Terminal AIDS and forces a smile while cutting off the people that love her most hoping to cling to the friend she loves. While the film is well acted, the story never goes beyond its concept of focusing on these three women with a connection to Virginia Woolf. It's hard to feel for characters that are hardly ever focused on and its hard to become involved in a story that leaves its audience out in the cold without a real perspective to the minds of these women who are forced to live their lives as illusions.

The film hops and skips from the past to the present to the not so far past with connecting stories that would seem very confusing should an audience member walk into this halfway through. Though interesting, it's too grim and often the heavy handed topic will leave audiences feeling disconnected from the characters who never really get beyond their concepts of what they're supposed to be in the film. The writer and director never let us into the minds of these women and we're forced to make assumptions only to discover that they might be wrong later on and base the entire film solely on the supposed premise.

We're made to feel as if we're on the outside looking into a story that is based solely on one concept and one concept alone. In the end Kidman gives a meaningful monologue that's supposed to sum up the film but never really has an effect on the audience because we could never get a true inside glimpse. The film feels like a car passing by, fleeting and never really making an impact and we're left feeling unfulfilled, stumped, and ultimately disappointed.

Despite excellent performances from it's all-star cast, this is ultimately bogged down by its grim tone, heavy story, and a concept it can never get past.

• Author of the original book "The Hours" Michael Cunningham has a cameo. Clarissa (Meryl Streep) walks past the author on her way to the flower shop.
• Allison Janney was originally chosen for the role of Barbara in the Flower shop but she insisted on taking the role of Sally Lester, who plays the character Clarissa Vaughan's lover.
• To make her look like Virginia Woolf, Nicole Kidman wore a false prosthetic nose.
• Nicole Kidman learned to write with right hand for more authenticity since Virginia Woolf was right-handed.
• The song, Beim Schlafengehen (Going to Sleep), that Clarissa plays in her apartment is one of the Four Last Songs by Richard Strauss, all dealing with a farewell to life.
• Dan Brown tells his son Richie about falling in love with Laura, but actor John C. Reilly who plays Dan was actually telling Jack Rovello the story of "Jack and the Beanstalk" so the young actor would appear interested. The actual dialogue was dubbed in later.
• This film was disqualified by the Academy for the Best Makeup Oscar because digital touch-ups were done on close-ups of Nicole Kidman to make the nose seem seamless.
• Gwyneth Paltrow was considered for the role of Laura Brown.
• Zeljko Ivanek actually filmed scenes as Louis Waters with Meryl Streep, only to be replaced with Jeff Daniels later in production. All scenes between Louis and Clarissa were subsequently re-shot.
• "The Hours" was the original working title of Virginia Woolf's "Mrs. Dalloway".
• When the seating chart for Richard's party is shown, the name Michael Cunningham is in the middle. Michael Cunningham wrote the novel upon which the movie is based.
• In the beginning of the movie, every house is seen to be having flowers. Every house has a different color of flowers: red, yellow and blue - Virginia Woolf's trademark.
• Actress Meryl Streep who stars in the film is actually mentioned in the original novel on which the film is based.

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