Hours, The

Three women, separated by a span of nearly 80 years, find themselves weathering similar crises, all linked by a single work of literature in this film adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Michael Cunningham . In 1923, Virginia Woolf ( Nicole Kidman ) is attempting to start work on her novel Mrs. Dalloway , in which she chronicles one day in the life of a troubled woman. But Virginia has demons of her own, and she struggles to overcome the depression and suicidal impulses that have followed her throughout her life, as her husband Leonard ( Stephen Dillane ) ineffectually tries to help. In 1951, Laura Brown ( Julianne Moore ) is a housewife living in suburban Los Angeles, where she looks after her son Richie ( Jack Rovello ) and husband Dan ( John C. Reilly ). Laura is also an avid reader who is currently making her way through Mrs. Dalloway . The farther she gets into the novel, the more Laura discovers that it reflects a dissatisfaction she feels in her own life, and she finds herself pondering the notion of leaving her life behind. Finally, in 2000, Clarissa Vaughn ( Meryl Streep ) is a literary editor who is caring for Richard Brown ( Ed Harris ), a former boyfriend and noted author, who is slowly losing his fight with AIDS. Clarissa is trying to arrange a party to celebrate the fact that Richard has won a prestigious literary award, but is getting little help from Richard's ex-lover, Louis ( Jeff Daniels ). As she labors to help Richard through another day, he wonders if his life is worth the unending struggle. The Hours also features Toni Collette , Miranda Richardson , Allison Janney , and Claire Danes . — Mark Deming