Denise Haggerty- The Hours

The film that I choose is called The Hours (2002). This film was about three women and the struggles that they face, each woman is from a different period of time and the film really shows how even though things have changed for women they still face some of the same struggles. The first women introduced is Virginia Woolf, she is writing a novel in 1923 called “Mrs. Dalloway”. Virginia is depressed and struggling with her sexuality, she feels attracted to women however she is married. Her struggle comes to be a decision whether to run away or return to her husband who loves her. The second women is Laura Brown, she is a housewife in 1951 who is trying to plan a perfect birthday party for her husband. Laura has a son and is reading the book “Mrs. Dalloway” she feels depressed and tired of her life. She is struggling to discover herself and trying to be a good housewife and mother. Her struggle is almost exactly the same as Virginia Woolf’s in that she is trying to decide whether she will run away or stay with her husband who she is miserable with. The third woman is Clarrisa Vaughan and she is a successful woman in 2001. She is planning a party for her friend Richard, who always calls her Mrs. Dalloway and also who is dying. Clarrisa is struggling with her sexuality, she is a lesbian however she is feeling attracted to Richard who is dying. All three women have to face struggles in their life and whether or not they are going to make a change in their lives.
This film showed women as strong and powerful it showed that one woman in 1923 who is struggling in a male dominated world can affect the lives of women decades later. This film showed that women can make a very powerful change in the world. I feel that this film would be a good feminist movie because it shows women as independent smart people who although some moments of the movie show the role that men have over women, it showed that women are very strong. I personally really enjoyed this film. I think I identified with all the women I remember in high school feeling trapped like I wanted to run away like most of the women in this movie. Also I remember when I was discovering my own sexuality, that is something that can be very difficult for someone and I remember being very confused the same as the women in this movie.

This is a video that I found on youtube.com that I thought was really cool. There are also additional links for further information on the film The Hours.






Imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274558/
Yahoo movies: http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1807859436/info
Wikepedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hours_(film)