Wednesday, August 22, 2007

I don't think two people could've been happier

Each time I watch "The Hours", I am struck by how heartbreakingly and unapologetically human it is. It is beautifully filmed and is filled with meaningful subtleties. It is both simple and complicated. Each of the three women struggle with depression, sexuality, and the parameters placed on being a woman in the time that they exist. Julianne Moore's character, Laura Brown, is especially endearing. The scene where her neighbor, Kitty, comes over to ask Laura to look after her dogs while she goes to the doctor always moves me. The dismissive look Kitty gives her before she leaves, after their full on the mouth kiss, is excruciatingly glossy and cruel. Some may see the kiss as a lesbian outburst in a June Cleaver world, but I think it shows Laura's desire to connect with another human being. She wants so much to be loved and touched and to make a mental connection with someone, that it transcends sexual desire.

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