I came out of The Hours somewhat stunned. This is a remarkable film, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore are all superb and utterly believable. The link between the three (Kidman as Virginia Woolf, Moore as a 1950s depressed housewife and Streep as a confident modern woman) is seemingly only linked by a book – Mrs Dalloway.

The lives of the three are crumbling in various ways, and this is conveyed well on screen. Kidman –hardly recognisable thanks to great make-up –is superb and going slowly mad in 1920s Richmond. Moore’s character appears to have feelings of worthlessness, while Streep is coping with modern-day New York, while her relationship seems to be going nowhere, and a good friend suffers with AIDS.

This isn’t a happy film. Many of the scenarios are quite sad, but it isn’t really a depressing film either. It’s engrossing and engaging, and even the supporting characters are played brilliantly.

On this day…

• 2003: The Mobile Blog