The Hours won awards for Nicole Kidman’s fake nose – and hearts as a queer classic
Michael Cunningham’s Pulitzer prize-winning book The Hours – inspired by Virginia Woolf’s seminal 1925 novel, Mrs Dalloway – imagines one day in the lives of three women separated across time periods.The triptych follows Woolf in the throes of writing Mrs Dalloway; Laura Brown, a depressed housewife who is reading Woolf’s novel in postwar America; and Clarissa Vaughan, a New Yorker who acts as a contemporary embodiment of Woolf’s titular character.Cunningham’s 1998 text, though widely acclaimed, was initially deemed unadaptable due to its nonlinear structure and stream-of-consciousness approach that paid homage to Woolf’s pioneering style.However, since its publication, The Hours (which takes its name from Mrs Dalloway’s working title), has been reinterpreted as an opera and, most notably, a 2002 film directed by Stephen Daldry.As the title suggests, the film explores the ways in which the routine of a single day can be at once beautiful in its ordinariness or seismic in its oppressive mundanity.
The three women at the film’s centre are just trying to make it through: Woolf (Nicole Kidman) is unable to cope with her personal responsibilities while plagued by a deep depression; Brown (Julianne Moore) is suffocating under domestic pressures while repressing her true desires; and Vaughan (Meryl Streep) neglects her own psychological needs while caring for her ex-lover who is dying of Aids.The women’s individual struggles become linked through their interweaving storylines, suggesting despite the progression of time and sociopolitical advancements, many women remain smothered by the restrictions and expectations of a heteronormative, patriarchal society and are burdened by the expectation to be a “wife” or “mother” before being a “person”.The film adaptation of The Hours is best remembered for securing an Academy Award for Nicole Kidman, who famously donned a prosthetic nose to transform into Woolf.Kidman’s win is often cited as an example of “de-glamming”, where an actor minimises their physical beauty in pursuit of awards glory.But accusations of The Hours as solipsistic “Oscar bait” is a disservice to both the film and Kidman’s brilliantly acidic performance.
Kidman, who made The Hours while going through her divorce from Tom Cruise, channels her personal pain into Woolf’s quiet despair and rage,As Woolf battles with suicidal ideation, Kidman balances the author’s anguish with fox-like intelligence,Moore and Streep, playing two women also on the verge of nervous breakdowns, deliver some of the best performances of their careers,Streep, who is actually mentioned by name in Cunningham’s novel, is mesmerising in the film’s climactic breakdown scene, remarkable in her physical and emotional vulnerability,The trio star alongside a murderers’ row of a supporting cast, including outstanding performances from Toni Collette, Ed Harris and Allison Janney.
Upon release, the film was critically acclaimed for its stellar cast and Philip Glass musical score.But it was the queer community who truly embraced The Hours – not only for its melodramatic tendencies (notably parodied in Kath & Kim), but for its sympathetic depiction of queer sexuality across the 20th century.The Hours acutely understands how the discovery of one’s queerness can be both terrifying and liberating.Each protagonist has their own unique relationship to queerness, and a sexual encounter for each threatens to unravel their understanding of themselves.For Woolf and Brown, their queerness unveils the promise of a different life, free from the inertia of a domestic prison.
For Vaughan – an openly partnered lesbian in love with her gay ex-lover – a shared kiss reopens old wounds and forces her to confront buried feelings.The way time and structure are played with is also explicitly queer.The film’s non-sequential structure, inspired by Woolf’s norm-breaking writing technique, bucks convention, highlighting the ways queerness is rooted not only in shared history but a history that disrupts and distorts traditional, linear, “straight” storytelling.The Hours is available to rent in Australia, the UK and the US.For more recommendations of what to stream in Australia, click here
Lewis Moody ‘picking up baton’ left by Doddie Weir with MND fundraising cycle ride
The former England captain Lewis Moody has said he is “picking up the baton” left by Doddie Weir after announcing plans to lead a 500-mile, seven-day cycling challenge this summer to raise funds for the fight against motor neurone disease.Moody will be joined by many of his fellow 2003 World Cup winners, including Jonny Wilkinson, Mike Tindall and Ben Kay, as well as his teenage sons on a journey from Newcastle to the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham, with all proceeds going to the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation.The former Leicester, Bath and British & Irish Lions forward became the latest retired player to be diagnosed with MND, which he revealed last October, with the disease having claimed the lives of Weir and the former rugby league international Rob Burrow in the past four years.The My Name’5 Doddie Foundation has raised more than £23.5m to fund MND research, and Moody has committed to continuing the former Scotland international’s legacy in fighting a disease that results in six new diagnoses each day in the UK alone
South Africa struggling to secure UK TV deal to screen England Test series
Cricket South Africa has yet to secure a UK television rights deal for England’s marquee Test series next winter with Sky Sports declining an offer to renew a long-term contract that expired last year.Sky’s apparent reluctance to extend a relationship that began more than 30 years ago has left CSA searching for alternative broadcast partners so that the three Tests over Christmas and three one-day internationals in January are televised in the UK.The decision is all the more surprising as South Africa also hosts Australia in a three-Test series in October in a time zone that is convenient to British audiences, and reflects the dwindling value of bilateral international cricket.TNT Sports has made a habit of buying rights rejected by Sky in the past, including last winter’s Ashes and those for Test series in India and Pakistan, but are unable to commit at present due to budget pressures and uncertainty over its long-term ownership. Paramount Skydance has agreed a $110bn deal to buy parent company Warner Bros Discovery but it has yet to be approved by United States regulators, leaving TNT in a holding pattern
‘Tennis is about being fluid’: How Iga Swiatek is drawing on her time with Rafael Nadal to regain No 1 spot
Iga Swiatek had little interest in tennis as a teenager, but the one exception was Rafael Nadal. She spent her formative years idolising the Spaniard, who won 22 majors and, from afar, soon became one of his most avid students.His influence is evident in the heavy topspin the Pole generates with her forehand, still a singular weapon on the women’s tour, proof of the intensity she demands of herself on every point and her four French Open titles earned by the time she was barely 23.After a youth spent following Nadal’s career, Swiatek’s success allowed her to build a friendly rapport with him away from the court. Their friendship then came full circle this month as she found herself being coached by Nadal at his academy in Mallorca alongside her new full-time coach Francisco Roig, Nadal’s former coach of 18 years
‘Two are stronger than one’: Boston Marathon duo praised for helping struggling runner cross finish line
A pair of Boston Marathon runners who teamed up to help a fellow athlete across the race’s finish line have been praised for their “beautiful moment” of sportsmanship.Ajay Haridasse, a 21-year-old university student from Wakefield, Massachusetts, found himself stumbling after passing the 26-mile mark in Monday’s race. After falling for a fourth time, he was “getting ready to crawl” to the finish line, Haridasse told the Boston Herald.As he attempted to regain his strength, Aaron Beggs, a 40-year-old from Northern Ireland, appeared on his left side and pulled Haridasse to his feet. Haridasse stumbled again, only to be caught from behind by another runner, Robson De Oliveira, a 36-year-old of Brazil
London Marathon organisers believe two-day event could bring £400m economic boost
London Marathon organisers have revealed more details about plans to stage a two-day event next year which they say would be an “incredible celebration” that would raise more than £130m for charity and bring in £400m in social and economic benefits.As the Guardian revealed last month, advanced talks are under way for the one-off event which would allow around 100,000 people to take part, nearly double the number running on Sunday.Speaking on Wednesday, Hugh Brasher, the event director, confirmed that one of the two days would be devoted to faster women, with the women’s elite race, women’s championship and good-for-age runners and a mixed mass participation race all taking place. The other day would then focus more on the men’s races while also having a second mass participation race for men and women.Brasher also promised those still holding up the deal that 2027 would be a one-off “double” as the London Marathon did not want to “lose the love” it has from runners, fans and people living in the capital
Ryder Cup tickets hit record Europe high at £434 a day in Ireland next year
Ryder Cup Europe has doubled the cost of a ticket to attend next year’s marquee event when the US will seek to regain the trophy at Adare Manor in County Limerick.Organisers will charge fans €499 (£434) for a daily ticket when a batch are released to those living in Ireland, where the centenary event is being held, on Friday. That is almost double the €260 face value spectators paid in Rome three years ago.Practice-day covers will be more reasonably priced at €89 for adults and €20 for children for the Tuesday and Wednesday sessions, rising to €179 and €30 for Thursday, which includes the opening ceremony.Despite the prices being at record levels for European-hosted Ryder Cup, fans paid $750 (£555) to watch Europe’s victory over the US at Bethpage in New York last year
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