January 23, 2003 -- "The Hours" begins and ends with suicide. In between, there is an exploration of depression and suicide. Is this depressing? Yes, but it is also thought-provoking. It is a meditation, not on what makes people commit suicide, but what keeps people going. It is actually kind of positive, as hard as that is to believe.

Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore and Meryl Streep star in three different stories about women in three different time periods all connected by a Virginia Woolf book, "Mrs. Dalloway." Kidman plays suicidal author Virginia Wolf. Wolf struggled with depression (she suffered from manic depression, also known as bipolar disorder) for years, having a severe mental breakdown in 1895. After another mental breakdown in 1904-5 she tried to commit suicide. She married Leonard Woolf in 1912 and the two set up Hogarth Press, which would later publish all of her works. In 1941, Virginia Wolf, on the verge of her fourth mental breakdown, committed suicide. In the film, it appears the suicide occurred soon after she finished "Mrs. Dalloway," but it was, in fact, 16 years after that book was published. The film begins with Woolf's suicide, but then goes backward in time to the period when she was writing "Mrs. Dalloway." Woolf is planning a party. She is also engaged in a debate with her husband, Leonard (Stephen Dillane of "Spy Game") over where the two should live. She wants to move back to London, against the advice of her doctors. She argues that she is the best judge of what she needs, not her doctors. Kidman wears makeup which changes the appearance of her nose significantly for this role.

Julianne Moore ("Far From Heaven") plays Laura Brown, a 1950's housewife suffering from depression. She is also reading "Mrs. Dalloway," and is planning a party of her own for her husband, Dan (John C. Reilly of "Chicago"). As she makes a birthday cake for him with her son, Richie (Jack Rovello), she is also thinking about suicide. Richie senses something is wrong with his mother and does not want to leave her to her own devices.

Meryl Streep ("Adaptation") plays Clarissa Vaughan, a modern day woman who is also reading Mrs. Dalloway, and she is also planning a party and buying flowers just as Mrs. Dalloway did in the book. She even has the same first name as Mrs. Dalloway, Clarissa. Vaughan, like Dalloway, fears that her seemingly full life with her significant other, Sally (Allison Janney of "The West Wing" TV series) is really empty. She feels empty despite the good relationship she has with her own daughter, Julia (Claire Danes of "Igby Goes Down"), and despite the friendship she has with her former lover Richard (Ed Harris of "Pollack"), an award-winning poet who is dying of AIDS. The party she is planning for Richard is to celebrate his winning a major poetry prize. Richard is fond of calling Clarissa Mrs. Dalloway because she is so much like the fictional character. Richard observes that Clarissa derives so much of her own reason for living by taking care of him, that she will have to re-examine her life when he dies. At the same time, he notes, the only reason he clings to life in his disease-riddled body is because of Clarissa.

The movie (based on the novel of the same name by Michael Cunningham) makes the argument that other people, even those that we love, cannot provide us with a reason to keep on living. In the end, the reason to keep on going must come from within. This is another aspect to the argument over whether people are, or are not, social animals. The once-popular existential argument is, essentially, that we are not social animals, but are essentially alone and alienated from society. That seems to be what the film is saying, too, but it is more complicated than that. The film is also saying, as Virginia Woolf did in "Mrs. Dalloway," that people's thoughts are connected over time and distance in a way that transcends the existentialist notion of alienation. Woolf makes the case for a unity of human existence. This unity is echoed in the film using editing to rapidly cut back and forth between the three story lines, especially in the first minutes of the film. The three characters, separated by time and culture, repeat the same lines from the book, showing their human connection. Yet, the three characters are not the same, although they share different aspects of Virginia Woolf's mind.

At the end, the stories coalesce in way that ties the three characters together in a very neat knot, showing us multiple relationships and some unexpected outcomes. These complex human connections, showing a kind of unity of human spirit is what gives the film a more positive tone than one would expect from a story that deals so heavily in suicide and depression. It is a complex, brilliantly constructed story which benefits from masterful direction by Stephen Daldry ("Billy Elliot") and editing by Peter Boyle ("Quills"). The production values are very solid, but what makes this film exceptional is the acting. All of the actors do a wonderful job. In addition to those already mentioned above are Toni Collette of "About a Boy" shines as Kitty, Laura Brown's friend. Miranda Richardson of "Spider" is effective as Vanessa Bell, Virginia Woolf's sister. Although the film is heavily feminist, several men also have good roles and performances, including Ed Harris, Stephen Dillane and John C. Reilly. This is one of the best films of the year. It rates an A.

For more information on this film, including Virginia, Laura and Clarissa, PDF article, the movie (story, trailer, gallery, filmmakers, about the movie), special features (author Michael Cunningham, director Stephen Daldry, writer David Hare, composer Philip Glass, production design, cast) news and reviews (news, articles, reviews, resources and links), click on this link to the official home page of The Hours.