Saturday, December 21, 2013

Hours

Hours before the worst of Hurricane Katrina wrecks havoc on Louisiana, Nolan Hayes (Paul Walker) and his very pregnant wife barge into a New Orleans emergency room. Their baby girl is born successfully, but will need to rest in an incubator for the next two days until she can breathe on her own. Due to complications during the delivery, Nolan’s wife did not survive. Devastated in his grief, Nolan now has to raise a child that he, admittedly, has no idea how to raise.

The storm hits. Hard. The power goes out and the hospital is evacuated. In order for Nolan to keep his daughter alive, he has to furiously crank a generator every three minutes. Three minutes of life at time, all while battling human and natural disasters, and his own increasing exhaustion.

So describes Eric Heisserer’s first film, Hours. A simple film made for relatively simple money, but containing grand and familiar themes. How far can we push ourselves? How hard will we fight to protect what we love? At what point do we give up? These are the notions that define Heisserer’s film. But I know that isn’t what you’re thinking about.

The question that will forever haunt Hours is, of course: Is Paul Walker good in the film? Did the star, who suffered an untimely death last month, show greatness in what will be his last major film role? The simple answer is yes. Paul Walker is very good in Hours. So good, in fact, that it is by long and far the finest performance of his career. And I don’t offer that compliment lightly. I’m not letting Walker’s death affect my opinion; he’s actually quite incredible in the film. Period.
Heisserer’s script, however, is not. From a critical standpoint, I couldn’t help but compare Hours to J.C. Chandor’s masterful All is Lost. Both films contain mostly one man battling the elements, doing whatever they can to survive. Hours is less confident in its approach to its main character’s isolation, relying on frequent interruptions by new characters, and heartwarming flashbacks of his wife. But that’s a common narrative device in films like this. All is Lost was unique in the way that it only contained one person. I certainly don’t expect that level of audaciousness in every film of this kind. But, more importantly, I was fascinated by the differences in how Heisserer and Chandor’s characters handled their situations. Robert Redford hardly says a word in All is Lost, but Paul Walker never really shuts up in Hours. And this is the film’s biggest fault: by having Nolan constantly grumble to himself, his infant daughter, and a random dog, Hours assumes that the audience’s attention can’t be held in silence. Had Nolan said less, the film would’ve been far more compelling.

But please don’t let that be the major takeaway of this review. Although Hours feels like it was made by a first time director, the film is an overall worthy effort. It creates moments of great tension, fear and paranoia, and it is anchored by an actor eager to prove that he really did have it. That’s the finest compliment I can give a performer, that they have that thing, that edge, that spark – they have it. Before Hours, I thought Paul Walker was an occasionally fine actor, aware of his restraints, but continually trying to improve himself. It is such a shame that it took Hours to prove distinctly that he had that edge. He had that spark. He had it. Tragically, we’ll never get to see that edge develop. We’ll just have to rely on Hours to prove it to us, time and time again.

Paul Walker: A-, the film: B 

17 comments:

  1. I'll probably see this if it's on TV as I'm sure Paul Walker was getting the chance to show some new dimension to prove that he had more to offer. I think he does have it. Besides, I'd rather watch him read a phone book than watch any crap movie that stars someone like Robert Pattinson or Hayden Christensen.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Even if Pattinson is working with the likes of Cronenberg and Herzog?

      Delete
    2. I don't think I want to revisit Cosomopolis and I'm going to pretend he's not working w/ those guys.

      Delete
    3. I also did not understand some critics' love for Cosmopolis. Not an awful film--and not really Pattinson's fault, either--but Cosmopolis felt unmoored and not in a good way. The film lacked consistency or even any real message beyond "the world is fucked." Maybe Cronenberg was too in love with the source material? I think DeLillo's book could be a good film, possibly, but this wasn't it.

      I will definitely check this out when it comes to Netflix as the premise and trailer intrigued me. It feels like this film has been floating around for more than a year or more--unfortunate we're only seeing it now that Walker is deceased.

      Delete
    4. Void: Yeah man, I hope you have a chance to see Hours soon. I'd love to know what you think of Walker's performance.

      All: David Cronenberg is one of my favorite directors, but Cosomopolis is one of the worst films I've ever seen. I didn't like one thing about it, including Pattinson's work. I will agree with W.J., though, that the film wasn't bad because of Pattinson, it was just bad because it was bad. Oh well.

      Pattinson and Herzog has me a bit... curious.

      Delete
    5. Don't care what anyone says, I really liked Cosmopolis. (Forever Alone)

      Delete
    6. Hey man, I'm not mad at you. We like what we like!

      Delete
    7. Oh I apologize, I didn't mean to imply that I thought you were mad at me or anything. I was just making a statement. No ill will attached my friend.

      Also, when I was referring to Pattinson working with Herzog and Cronnenberg, I was referring to the new Cronenberg film Maps to the Stars which he's doing with Pattinson, not Cosmopolis.

      Delete
    8. Oh no, it's all good man! They filmed a lot of that in Hollywood. I'll definitely be seeing it, hoping for the best.

      Delete
  2. From the trailer of this film, it didn't pique my interest but your review certainly makes it sound a bit more interesting (though honestly not by much). I think I would have to agree with thevoid99's comment that I'd probably be more likely to watch this if I happened to see it on tv than to actively seek it out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The film itself is just okay. An average survival flick of sorts. But Walker does show inarguable signs of greatness in it.

      Delete
  3. I feel like it will take me some time to see this one because it's painful for me to see movies with actors that are no longer there. It might not take me as long as it took for me to see Ledger as The Joker, but it certainly will take some time. I'm far too emotional about these things.. especially when it is an emotional movie.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm right there with you. Same thing when I watched James Gandolfini in Enough Said. It's just so damn sad.

      Delete
  4. interesting that you separated paul's performance from the film. the screenplay can certainly make or break a film

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do that occasionally when I feel like a specific performance is superior to the film as a whole. Which Walker's work here is, for sure.

      Delete
  5. Glad to hear Walker gave a good performance. I thought he showed promise in Noel, but I need to see more of his acclaimed work. Hopefully, I'll see this one soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hours proved that he was really starting to come into his own. I quite enjoyed the performance. Just a shame that he's gone.

      Delete