What is The Hours? Which hours are they referring to? Maybe it is just the hours that we get through in any given day.

Based on the best-selling novel by Sean Cunningham, The Hours is centered upon the classic novel "Mrs. Dalloway". In 1923, Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman) is suicidal and at a pivotable moment in her life as her great novel, "Mrs Dalloway" is coming to fruition. Meanwhile in 1951, housewife Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) is battling her own war which is threatening to overwhelm her. Then finally in 2001, Clarissa Vaughn (Meryl Streep), a gay woman is preparing for a party to honor her author friend (Ed Harris) who is struck with AIDS. Each woman is involved with the novel in some way. One is writing it, another is reading it and the final lady is living it. How will each woman deal with her life's battle? Who will win and who will lose? So are the hours in these fractured lives.

The Hours represents probably three of the best actresses working in Hollywood today. It also almost shows a lineage or evolution in these three actresses' careers. Meryl Streep has garnered infamy and been decorated many times in her career. Julianne Moore is on the verge of being decorated in her career and has already garnered infamy. Nicole Kidman is the new-comer to prestige as she is waiting for her wake of decoration. Each woman is deeply talented and deserves the recognition.

For me, the film was utterly uncomfortable and unbelievably heavy to sit through. It felt like every inch or thread of dialogue was rapt with emotion. I couldn't breathe or feel comfortable watching it. I did find myself, over time, being absorbed in one of the stories more than the others. The whole story of Virginia Woolf intrigued me and I wanted to learn more but the film kept showing the other two stories as well. I found the whole 1951 story to be confusing. What exactly was the woman's problem? It was hard to relate since I didn't know the time-period. I did find myself relating to the 2001 story just before the story climaxed. When it finally did I did find it interesting but wasn't sure if it was a fair pay-off.

I do hope that Nicole Kidman is looked at come Oscar time for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf because I haven't seen better performance from an actress all year except maybe Salma Hayek in "Frida".

The Hours is a deep, enveloping movie about menopausal depression. There is so much sadness and emotion wedged into this film that it forgets to let the audience breathe once in a while. Maybe too much of a good thing is too much. The Hours is hard to forget but I am not sure if I recommend the journey.

(3 of 5) So Says the Soothsayer.