<< Front page Arts February 20, 2004

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The Hours is the sort of movie that most people either love or hate. Some people find it “deeply moving,” “skillfully edited,” “emotionally rewarding” and “profound.” Others find it “boring,” “depressing,” “whiny,” “most unworthy of an Oscar” and “utterly unenjoyable.” Regardless of how you feel, one thing can be said about The Hours with certainty: Oberlin Film Society will be screening it this Saturday night.

The Hours, based on the novel by Cunningham, follows a day in the lives of three women separated by time and circumstance. The movie uses Virginia Woolf’s novel Mrs. Dalloway to link and move between the character’s lives, exploring the themes of depression, suicide, fulfillment and agency in the process. The film stars Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore and Meryl Streep with notable performances from John C. Reilly and Ed Harris. With 9 Academy Award nominations and more gay (or at least bisexual) characters than the average film, what’s not for an Obie to like? Decide for yourself. Lessons about humanity or for middle aged women only? Is Kidman’s Virginia Woolf all it’s cracked up to be, or was her Oscar merely a reward for rendering herself unrecognizable with that prosthetic nose? Only one way to find out.

Science Center, West Lecture Hall. Cost: General Admission $2. Saturday, Feb. 21 7 p.m., 9 p.m., 11 p.m.

—Emily Ascolese


 
 
   

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