THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
There are movies where you avoid seeing for a while because you’re just not sure how you’ll feel about it. I have had that feeling for a few films and one that I caved for was Hours.
PLOT
The 2013 film takes place in 2005 New Orleans, Louisiana. Abigail Hayes gives labor to her firstborn daughter five weeks early. Because of this, she would lose her own life due to liver failure. Her husband Nolan is distraught that his love is gone and worries on taking care of their child on his own. The baby is named Abigail Jr. and is kept in a ventilator until she can breathe on her own. The infamous ‘Hurricane Katrina’ strikes New Orleans, causing many from the hospital to evacuate to another. With the building losing power, he finds a generator to keep the ventilator on. Because of the generator being old, the ventilator is charged to only every few minutes. With that result, Nolan has to keep charging it every other minute before the time runs out. In between this, he does so much for his baby. He provides more IVs to keep her nourished and changes her diaper. Even though she’s sleeping, he openly shared to her how he met her mother. Years prior, they met after stopping a bank robbery. He shared that they ironically both proposed to each other in the same day. During this time with her, he encounters a rescue dog he would name ‘Sherlock’, along with offering it some of his food. At one point, he hallucinates of his wife which motivates him to not give up on his baby girl. In between charging the ventilator, he has multiple attempts to summon an SOS. He does try to flag down a helicopter from the rooftop but due to others from an opposite building shoot at it. He tries to call for help from an ambulance radio but due to the ventilator's deadline, he couldn't hear a reply in time. He is unable to find another battery but when finding another generator at a flloded room, he almost gets electrocuted and barely makes it back to Abby in time. Past 36 hours, Nolan's right hand gets cut for cranking the generator so much he would compromise by using his left hand, feet and later a rod. Looters would eventually steal whatever they could find and when the first one attacks taking Nolan's food, he would run off after being attacked by Sherlock. Nolan would soon discover that the same one murdered Nurse Shelly (Kerry Cahill), who had promised to bring him back more supplies. Two more looters would show up and attempt to steal medicine they intend to sell or get high with. Nolan makes one fatally overdose by injecting him with two shots of adrenaline. He gets the drop on the other by shooting him point blank in the face with a rifle, keeping his daughter safe no matter what. At 46 hours, Nolan is so exhausted that he cranks the generator with both hands. When he accidentally breaks it, he gives Abby mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until she finally breathes on her own. Giving all the energy he had, he passes out after awake for two whole days. Just as he drops to the ground, Sherlock returns with two paramedics who come to save him. Just as he is placed on a stretcher, they hear Abby's cries and take her as well. The film ends with Nolan having tears of joy that his daughter is safe.
THOUGHTS
Again, I wasn't sure what I wanted from this movie when I first heard of it. Once I gave it a chance, I now regret not seeing it sooner because I was truly impressed with what was given. Director Eric Heisserer made one of those stories that sound simple on paper become more intriguing to witness from first second to last. Because of my original uncertainty, everything that happened kept me hooked. 2013 was a steady year for films but this one really felt like a bright spot. This movie was so impressive because it gives an intense perspective on how far a father will or must go to protect their child. That message would've not been noticed without a great performance by the late Paul Walker. This felt like new territory for me due to his connection to the Fast Saga. Nevertheless, he was incredible to witness playing Nolan because while being a tough man, he was a tender father. He started out numb as part of his grieving, but necessarily broke out of that mold. When things got tough, he had to put his baby girl before himself because losing the last memory of his wife was not an option. He first tells Abby "I don't know you" because he didn't see his wife in her yet. By the time he says he does at the end, it choked me up because he finally saw her, hence his acceptance. I do want to give Genesis Rodriguez a shoutout because as Abigail, she was the angel that gave Nolan the warmth he needed in this fight for survival. When the hallucinated version of her says how great of a father he'd be, it became another emotional moment to see because it was all the motivation he needed when no one else provided. Although this was a better film than I expected, there were some things I couldn't help but peeve about. First off, I was irritated with Doctor Edmonds (Yohance Myles) and how he would approach Nolan. I know it's a busy day and there's a tsunami coming which would put everyone on edge, but I don't think he tried hard enough to cooperate with him. I rolled my eyes when he says "Best guess" about the usage of the ventilator because he could've said "About an average" instead. I was even pissed on how he doesn't give him a heads up that he was about to leave. While I admired that Shelly went back for him, I would've not minded if there was a B plot about her because I was confused on her timeframe, like when exactly did she leave for the supplies before her tragic death. And lastly, I was wondering why is Abby the only baby who needed a ventilator. I'm not saying I want more than one baby to fight for their lives but it's crazy to believe that there is only one baby in this predicament. I would've not minded acknowledgement that there were babies before her that luckily left the hospital right when they didn't need the machine anymore. Other than that, this movie is pretty good for what it is. In short, Hours is thrilling of a film that deserves more praise than it already has. If you like simple thrillers and love Paul Walker, this is perfect for you.
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