TODAY'S NUGGET: The Hours (2002) - David Hare Made Me Care (Use of Suspense, Transitions)

[Quick Summary: Reflecting themes of the Mrs. Dalloway novel, three women in three different time periods grapple with love, death, and meaning.]

THREE THOUGHTS:

1) This is a tricky adaptation, with a high level of difficulty. The story is more a meditation on a theme (vs. a defined plot) plus three separate story lines.

2)  Suspense.  To be honest, I wasn't all that interested in The Hours.

However, David Hare is one of those exceptional writers one who can engage me, even when I'm uninterested in the subject matter.  How does he do it?

First, he understands good old fashioned suspense, i.e., I-want-to-know-what-will-happen-next. (See example below.)

3) Transitions. Second, Hare, who is a playwright, understands film is built differently than theater. In film, emotions are affected by editing and transitions. (See example below.)

For example, in the scenes below:
- These are two separate, non-overlapping story lines.
- Virginia Woolf and Laura are in different time periods and never meet.
- For suspense: Notice that we wonder what Virginia is going to do. Where is Laura going to go?
- For transitions: Notice how the writer positions the characters and the editing cut. Virginia and Laura are separated by time and space, yet they have the same physical positions = The reader understands that they are going through similar situations.

EXT. HOGARTH HOUSE - GARDEN - DAY

...Then it's silent. VIRGINIA is left alone. She has not moved. She is still looking at the bird's grave. The bird is perfectly at peace and surrounded with petals. VIRGINIA looks. Slowly, VIRGINIA closes her eyes. Her face becomes a death mask.

INT. BROWNS' HOUSE - BEDROOM - DAY (1951)

LAURA is lain out on the bed, an identical look on her face to VIRGINIA'S. Then, impulsively, she gets up from the bed.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I'd never thought about using transitions/editorial cuts to convey similarities between story lines, and thus continuing the theme.

The Hours (2002)
by David Hare
From the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Michael Cunningham