Despite the fact that this film (based on Michael Cunningham's splendid novel) deals chiefly with the lives of three women,it's breadth and depth make it universal and appealing to both genders.
David Hare has done a brilliant job of translating an introspective novel into a cinematic experience of visual and emotional beauty. The performances: Nicole Kidman comes through as the greatest surprise, to me. Her pacing, her facial expressions, her whole presentation of a woman caught in the horror between creativity and madness is very affecting and memorable. Alas, her physical appearance was made to look too obvious (i.e. "This is a mad woman"), too lacking in the elegance of the real Virginia Woolf...and I found that distracting. Julianne Moore gave her careful and believable interpretation of a very delicate, disturbed woman...She's a totally reliable actress. And of course, the consummate performer, Meryl Streep, came through again, nuanced and intelligent, portraying a complex woman of deep feeling, not afraid to love fully and humanely...another woman, a gay man dyng of AIDS and her daughter, born from an unknown father. While some have criticized Ed Harris (as the dying gay man) as performing over the top, I found his portrayal belieable and very moving. Kudos also go to John C.Reilly, Stephan Dillane(as Leonard Woolf) and the small boy whose name, alas, I don't remember, who plays a very young, sensitive son with the skill of a veteran...
To the editor, Peter Boyle, and the director Stephen Daldry my highest praise and thanks for a film that travels its winding ways, hither and thither, from life to life, with the rhythm and smoothness of a glorious adagio, dealing with some of life's most troubling aspects in a way that has made the whole experience indelible.
David Hare has done a brilliant job of translating an introspective novel into a cinematic experience of visual and emotional beauty. The performances: Nicole Kidman comes through as the greatest surprise, to me. Her pacing, her facial expressions, her whole presentation of a woman caught in the horror between creativity and madness is very affecting and memorable. Alas, her physical appearance was made to look too obvious (i.e. "This is a mad woman"), too lacking in the elegance of the real Virginia Woolf...and I found that distracting. Julianne Moore gave her careful and believable interpretation of a very delicate, disturbed woman...She's a totally reliable actress. And of course, the consummate performer, Meryl Streep, came through again, nuanced and intelligent, portraying a complex woman of deep feeling, not afraid to love fully and humanely...another woman, a gay man dyng of AIDS and her daughter, born from an unknown father. While some have criticized Ed Harris (as the dying gay man) as performing over the top, I found his portrayal belieable and very moving. Kudos also go to John C.Reilly, Stephan Dillane(as Leonard Woolf) and the small boy whose name, alas, I don't remember, who plays a very young, sensitive son with the skill of a veteran...
To the editor, Peter Boyle, and the director Stephen Daldry my highest praise and thanks for a film that travels its winding ways, hither and thither, from life to life, with the rhythm and smoothness of a glorious adagio, dealing with some of life's most troubling aspects in a way that has made the whole experience indelible.