Oh, man, what a fantastic movie is. This was my second viewing of The Hours. I first watched it in 2010 and remember being extremely surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I would not have given this movie a chance back when it came out in 2002, but my interest in films has changed dramatically since then. Now, that’s not to say I still can’t enjoy a blockbuster (I watched Captain America: Civil War earlier in the same day and loved it). Still, I am much more into the human aspect of independent dramas like The Hours than I am about action movies or comedies. This movie deals with depression, a topic that I am, unfortunately, very familiar with. It does it from three different periods with three stories that are sometimes loose (and not so loosely) during others. This movie knotted Nicole Kidman (Cold Mountain, Rabbit Hole) with, surprisingly, just her third nomination to date (as of May 2016) and her first and only win. With a prosthetic nose, she was virtually unrecognizable as Virginia Woolf. But it wasn’t her physical characteristics that stood out. It was how she immersed herself in the role of a woman who you would think had it all but was so mentally troubled that she could not find any happiness in her life. An accomplished actress, this is the performance of her career in a movie that shouldn’t be missed by anybody who views life with a cup-half-empty sort of mentality.
Category Archives: Claire Danes
Shopgirl (2005)
Long before Claire Danes started earning multiple Emmy Awards as the bipolar Carrie Mathison on Showtime’s knock-out series Homeland, she was starring in lesser-known, independent movies like Brokedown Palace, Igby Goes Down, and 2005’s completely underappreciated Shopgirl. I watched this movie for the first time back in 2008 or 2009 and was blown away by how awesome and authentic it felt. This was long before Homeland. I have since watched every episode of Homeland (including seasons 1 and 2 twice each), so it was cool to re-watch Shopgirl, knowing everything that I know about the character she plays on the television show that earned her fame. Ironically I thought this was the first movie that Steve Martin (Parenthood, Three Amigos!) wrote. It turns out he’s written dozens of films (including Three Amigos!, Roxanne, LA Story, The Jerk, and Bowfinger), but this was the first real non-comedy that he wrote. Maybe the difference was that with Shopgirl was that he wrote the novel in addition to the screenplay. And let me say that he did a great job. I had a couple of problems (which I will include below), but for the most part, he killed it. I would not read this review unless you’ve seen this movie. It’s going to be chock-full of spoilers. I would love to hear what you think about it if you have seen it. If you haven’t, stop reading now and check out the movie.
Continue reading Shopgirl (2005)