+IGN Review by MAX NICHOLSON 18 DEC 2013
It may be tough for some people to watch +Paul Walker's final film Hours, which stars the late Fast & Furious actor in a more intimate, earnest role. Set in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, the film can admittedly feel dismal at times, especially since the 2005 disaster has been pretty well mined in other fictional works already. Nevertheless, despite this and Walker's tragic death last month, Hours is less about wallowing in tragedy and more about finding hope in the face of insurmountable odds, and it's in those more sanguine moments that the film really shines.
The story begins at a New Orleans hospital, just before Katrina hits. +Walker plays Nolan Hayes, who has rushed his pregnant wife Abigail (played by Genesis Rodriguez) to the ER for a premature delivery. But Nolan's life soon spirals out of control when Abigail dies after giving birth, and his newborn daughter is left in critical condition, housed in a neonatal incubator. Soon, the power goes out, and the hospital is hastily evacuated, leaving Nolan by himself to make sure his baby survives. To make matters worse, the incubator's battery is dwindling, and Nolan has to recharge the machine every few minutes with a crank generator until he and his daughter are rescued.
Starting out, the first few scenes of Hours feel a bit rushed, with wrench after wrench being thrown into the works. Nolan only takes a few precious minutes to cope with the loss of his wife before transitioning into a worried, reluctant father-type, as the storm wages outside. It's a bit awkward juggling all those different dynamics within the first 10 minutes or so -- there's one particularly strained sequence between Nolan and Dr. Edmonds (played by Yohance Myles) following Abigail's death -- but once the setup is out of the way, the film quickly finds its footing, starting with the initial evacuation. From there, the focus shifts squarely on Nolan, who carries the pic the rest of the way, mostly in scenes by himself.
Of course, Nolan isn't totally alone, because he still has his baby to talk to, and that gives him a somewhat reasonable excuse to vocalize his thoughts. Walker does an excellent job
these scenes, as he bonds with his daughter and intermittently fetches her medical supplies. As the hours pass, you get a good sense of Nolan's waning grip on reality, and yet his optimism remains intact thanks to his swelling affection for his offspring.
Meanwhile, the crank generator adds another layer of tension to the proceedings, as Nolan only has about three minutes at a time to leave the room and get what he needs (and that number dwindles over time). Given that almost the entire movie takes place in just the one building, Hours does a fairly good job of holding the viewer's attention, even though it's pretty conventional overall. (It helps that the runtime is only an hour and 37 minutes.)
One of the stronger through lines in the narrative is Nolan's past relationship with Abigail, which we glean through various flashbacks, as well as stories Nolan tells to his daughter. The on-screen chemistry between the doting couple is natural and believable, adding more depth to Nolan's loss as the story progresses. There are maybe only three or four flashbacks in all, but they're more than enough to establish the husband and wife's rapport.
THE VERDICT
+Paul Walker's Hours, written and directed by Eric Heisserer, is worth a watch, if only to see the late Fast & Furious actor's (fully completed) farewell film. His closing performance is solid, and he's working from a suitable, if conventional script. While it takes a little while for the story to stumble out of the gate, the full runtime is plenty short, and the main character makes it easy to invest in his plight.
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