The Hours
Short description
The Hours follows three women in different times and places whose lives are tied together by Virginia Woolf's novel Mrs. Dalloway. In 1920s England, Woolf works on the book while struggling with her mental health. In 1950s Los Angeles, housewife Laura Brown reads the novel and finds it pushing her to question her settled domestic life. In present-day New York, Clarissa Vaughan prepares a party for Richard, a poet and close friend who is seriously ill.
Stephen Daldry directed the film, his second feature after Billy Elliot, from a screenplay by David Hare based on Michael Cunningham's novel. Nicole Kidman plays Woolf, Julianne Moore plays Laura Brown, and Meryl Streep plays Clarissa Vaughan, with Ed Harris, Stephen Dillane and Jack Rovello in supporting roles. The production brought together Paramount, Miramax and Scott Rudin Productions, among others, on a budget of about 25 million dollars, and it took roughly 109 million dollars worldwide.
On IMDb the film holds 7.5 out of 10 from around 147,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.3 out of 10 from a much smaller number of votes. A critics' rating of 7.8 out of 10 across 194 reviews places it above both audience scores, indicating a more favourable response from professional reviewers than from the wider public.
What's left behind the scenes
- Gwyneth Paltrow and Emily Watson were considered for the role of Laura Brown.
- The film is based on Michael Cunningham's novel "The Hours" (1998).
- 'The Hours' was the first title considered for Woolf's novel 'Mrs. Dalloway'.
- Michael Cunningham, the author of the novel on which the film is based, made a cameo appearance in the film – as a passerby near the flower shop where Meryl Streep's character buys a bouquet.
- Scenes between Clarissa Vaughan and Louis Waters were reshot because initially the role of Louis was played by actor Zelko Ivanek, who was later replaced by Jeff Daniels.
- Scenes with Streep were filmed first; then the story of Julianne Moore's character was filmed; Nicole Kidman was the last to appear on set.
- A group of scenes with Meryl Streep was reshot: the final episodes featuring the aged Laura Brown were originally filmed with actress Betsy Blair, however, the director was dissatisfied with the actress's lack of resemblance to Julianne Moore (who played young Laura), and the scenes were reshot with Moore in makeup. The actress's makeup took six hours.
- Producer Harvey Weinstein did not want to disfigure actress Nicole Kidman with a prosthetic nose, however, Stephen Daldry managed to insist on the original makeup, which gave Kidman a resemblance to Virginia Woolf. A similar situation arose during the filming of 'The Brothers Grimm' (2005), but this time Weinstein remained adamant and did not allow director Terry Gilliam to adorn Matt Damon with a prosthetic nose.
- Nicole Kidman learned to write with her right hand specifically for the role of Virginia Woolf (the actress is left-handed, while Woolf was right-handed).
- The novel's author, Michael Cunningham, mentions two actresses in the book who may have been involved in filming near the flower stall: Meryl Streep and Vanessa Redgrave. Meryl Streep played Clarissa Vaughan, who is buying flowers at the stall, and Vanessa Redgrave played Clarissa Dalloway, the main character of Virginia Woolf’s novel 'Mrs. Dalloway' in the 1997 film of the same name.
- To achieve the effect of a room flooding with dirty water, where the character Mur is located, the soundstage was actually placed inside a tanker filled with river water.
- Before filming, Kidman read all of Virginia Woolf's published letters; according to the actress, this allowed her to gain a deeper understanding of the character.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
