I don’t know how to start this review. Do I keep it strictly focused on the film, or do I slant it towards Paul Walker and how Hours holds up in carrying his legacy alive following his untimely passing? It’s hard to be critical of an actor’s performance in light of their passing, especially when a film is released only weeks following their death. However, I can honestly say with dignity that Walker’s performance in Hours is one of his best. However, is it enough to carry the entire film?
[youtube id=”2wT4KPsy2gc” mode=”normal” align=”center”]
Hours
Director: Eric Heisserer
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: December 13, 2013
On the eve of Hurricane Katrina, Nolan (Walker) and his wife, Abigail (Genesis Rodriguez), are admitted to a hospital in New Orleans due to Abigail going through a premature labor. As the storm becomes stronger, Abigail’s resolve weakens, dying in childbirth. As Nolan struggles with the loss of his wife, Katrina becomes stronger, forcing everybody in the hospital to evacuate. However, Nolan’s premature daughter must stay connected to a neonatal incubator to stay alive. With the power diminishing and no help in sight, Nolan must protect his daughter at all costs with every passing minute turning into another grueling hour.
Walker may be best known as an action star because of his role as Brian O’Conner in the Fast & Furious films, but Hours was his attempt at displaying his dramatic range. Designed as an isolated character film, Hours trusts the entirety of the film on Walker’s performance. The trust Heisserer had in Walker is paramount, and the actor made the most of it. He still plays the same everyman character he’s known for, yet it fits entirely into what the film needed.
When one thinks of a character-driven, isolated film (re: Buried, 127 Hours), it’s expected to be an introspective psychological character study. Hours, however, is built as, essentially, a one-character thriller. The conflict, Man vs. World, is framed through the crux of the film is put entirely on the timed mechanic of baby Abigail’s survival. With the lack of power, Nolan is forced to use a backup generator to keep his daughter’s breathing normal. However, it only holds a charge in three-minute increments, disallowing him from resting, but also actively searching for help. As the film goes on, the amount of time given per charge begins to diminish, and with it, Nolan’s energy.
Over the course of the film, Nolan is faced with external threats that, honestly, take away from the film. I understand why looters were used as these threats – Hours is, after all, set during and in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and looters played as much of a role as the storm itself. However, while their presence was meant to pose as another conflict to Nolan, it took away from the real threat. I wouldn’t have removed them completely; rather, I would have used them differently. Again, I can understand their involvement in the film as the aforementioned secondary external threat and how the encounter coincides with Nolan’s mental descent/heightened defense over his daughter.
Early on, Hours began establishing itself as a father coping with the passing of his wife while developing an emotional connection to his newborn daughter, the struggle over having to reconcile the conflicting emotions following a death and birth, and the external conflict of Hurricane Katrina. Hours could have went many ways, whether it was an intensive psychological drama, an action/thriller, or many other routes. Instead, it shared bits and pieces from all of the avenues it could have followed. That decision takes away from the film’s direction.
Ultimately, however, Hours is weighted on Walker’s performance. His Nolan was similar to Bryan O’Conner, albeit reigned in, but Walker’s dramatic chops were developing. As it stands now, Walker’s performance in Hours was his best ever captured on the big screen. The trust Heisserer put in Walker’s abilities was wholly justified, and it’s unfortunate to know that we’ll never see just how far he would have been able to take his acting abilities.