H Dear Rocky - The Hours

Dear Rocky,

I have a friend who points me in the direction of amazing literature.  He introduced me to Mrs Dalloway which I was to read first, followed by The Hours.  What an awesome way to do it.

Then came the movie.

Firstly, I think the author did a wonderful job linking the three female characters and telling the story of depression across generations, not only from the perspective of the person with depression, but also their loved ones.  The suffering is not isolated the person with the disorder.

The most striking relationship for me in The Hours is that between Ed Harris' character, Richard and his mother (Julianne Moore).

In adulthood, there seemed to be little relationship, but as a child, Richard was exposed to his mother's depression and suicidal ideation.  He observed her and absorbed her emptiness, especially in that harrowing scene where she left him with a babysitter, to go and end her life in a hotel room.  That little boy played that scene impeccably - acting as though he would never see his mother again.  How did he know...?

Luckily, or unluckily, I don't know, she did not end her life.  Instead she came and picked him up and went home and had birthday cake.

Fast forward to Richard as an adult, rich with friends and a successful career, dying of AIDS.

Why did he end his life?  Because there was no future for him?  Because he wanted some control in an uncontrollable situation?  Or because he was depressed?  Did he inherit that from his mother?  Did the environment he grew up in predispose him to depression?  Or was he depressed because he was terminally ill?

There is never only one answer to the question "what causes depression?"

I love this movie for everything it encapsulates.  I give it a 9/10.

You?

Jodie

Read Rocky's review here!