Meryl not as good as usual?

It's interesting but every time I see this film I notice something different in someone else's performance. The first time I saw it, I thought Streep was incredible (I would rank it with her recent best). The second time I was most moved by Julianne and third time, by Kidman. Streep is pretty impressive in her breakdown scene and with her facial reactions (she does so much in those final scenes with so little). Watching this recently, I think Kidman is the standout. She gets completely lost in Woolf and still hasn't had a performance like this since.

[deleted]

I usually think Streep is overrated but not in this. She displays a lot of similar mannerisms is many of her films but I didn't notice them here. I was very impressed with her performance. One of her best in my opinion.

We'll see whose the filthiest person alive! We'll just see!

When I first watched The Hours, I was most impressed by Kidman. All three women were good, but I fell for the whole "package" that was Kidman's character. But, the last few times, and again today, seeing the movie I was blown away by Streep. She does so much acting in this movie without saying a word. In the scene where she is reacting to Richard saying he won't be coming to the party, etc., you can feel how torn and scared she is, but she says very little. Then, the scene with Laura Brown....Julianne is doing all the talking, but Meryl is emoting to beat the band with mostly her eyes. Those are things sometimes you don't notice on the first or second viewing. I found myself watching that scene again and wondering if the actresses were playing off of each other in that scene (probably not since they are never in the same shot) or if their acting is "to" the camera. Either way they both did a great job. But, I just hadn't noticed before how much Steep does with that scene.

I see what you mean. However, I think it's the character's fault. It hasn't been fleshed out as much as the other two ladies. Also, in comparison to what the two others have to deal with in their lives, her 'problems' seem almost laughable. But, I will say this. When I read the novel, before the film was released, I found Meryl's 'story' to be the least interesting. I skipped through and simply loved Moore's. When I saw the movie, and to this day, it was quite the opposite. Same story line, same characters, but I loved Meryl's section and just dreaded Moore's. Moore's acting had nothing to do with this; her life was supposed to depress us and disinterest us. So, it worked. But, in Meryl's case, I knew that the whole reason I loved it so much is because she improved the story line (which wasn't different from the book) with her beautiful characterization. Kidman's I loved in both the book and the film, and it is my favorite. I just think Meryl wasn't given much to deal with here. And, truth be told, I just don't like Clarissa as a character and often think that Sally (played so beautifully by Allison Janney) must have been a saint to be able to live with her all those years. Meryl did more than any actor could have with that character and story-line. It's a quiet desperation of a daily life incarnate. She has some first-rate, standout scenes, too. All her interactions with Harris (who was supberb and should have won the Oscar that year, imo), The kitchen scene of her breakdown (which was re-shot when Daniels was brought in to replace another actor; it wasn't written like that at all. That was all Meryl), her listening to old Laura Brown and the "It wasn't the begining. It WAS happiness" speech with Danes. Also, loved the shot of her face at the morgue. There is no dialogue, and she doesn't change expressions. That frozen look on her face tells you just how crushed she is then. As if she had died, too.

I actually just came on here to post a message about Meryl taking Best in Show honors for this film. As previously stated by others, each of the three leading ladies are excellent, but I think Meryl's portrait is the most indelible with repeat viewings. And I'd even go as far as to say that the contest for my favorite female performance of 2002 is a very close race between Meryl in this and Julianne Moore, not for this, but for her superior turn in "Far From Heaven."

Last Film Seen: Looper {A}

Better than usual. You could really feel how natural she was next to some of the other actors, particularly Jeff Daniels and his contrived performance. Her chemistry with Ed Harris was quite remarkable, and he was at his usual best.

IMO, it was a solid performance as one would normally expect from Streep but of the three leads I would say she was the weakest.

"Twitter is stupid. Instagram is just Twitter for people who can't read."
- Max