Delicate and hypnotic, The Hours interweaves three stories with remarkable skill: in the 1920s Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman) grappleswith her inner demons and slowly works on her novel Mrs. Dalloway;in 1949 housewife Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) feels her own destructive impulses; and in 1999 book editor Clarissa Vaughn (MerylStreep)--much like the title character of Woolf's novel--prepares to throw a party, in honor of her dearest friend, a seriously illpoet (Ed Harris). Small details reverberate from story to storyas a powerhouse cast (including Allison Janney, Toni Collette, ClaireDanes, Jeff Daniels, John C. Reilly, Stephen Dillane, and Miranda Richardson) gives subtleand beautifully modulated performances. In the hands of director StephenDaldry (Billy Elliot), The Hours is almost more a piece ofmusic than a story, and like music, it may move you in unexpected ways.--Bret Fetzer