HOURS (2013)

Genre: Thriller/Drama
Director: Eric Heisserer
Cast: Paul Walker, Genesis Rodriguez, Nick Gomez, Judd Lormand, Michelle Torres, Kerry Cahill, Shane Jacobsen
Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language)
Released By: Shaw 
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/Hours2013

Opening Day: 9 January 2014

Synopsis: Before sunrise on August 29, 2005, Nolan Hayes (PAUL WALKER) arrives at a New Orleans hospital with his pregnant wife, Abigail (GENESIS RODRIGUEZ), who has gone into early labor. What should be one of the happiest days of Nolan’s life quickly spirals out of control when the birth goes tragically wrong and Hurricane Katrina ravages the hospital, forcing an evacuation. Told to stay with his child, who is on a ventilator, and await transfer by ambulance, Nolan and his newborn are soon cut off from the world by power outages and rising flood waters. When no one returns to help, Nolan faces one life-and-death decision after another, fighting to keep his daughter alive, as minute-by-agonizing minute passes, becoming unimaginable “Hours.”

Movie Review:

Try as you may, but you probably won’t be able to see ‘Hours’ as a movie in and of itself. What was meant as a tight little indie drama about a man struggling to keep his newborn baby daughter alive during Hurricane Katrina has undeniably gained unexpected significance due to the sudden and accidental death of its lead star Paul Walker in a car accident. And yet as one of his final performances outside of the ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise, it is an affecting farewell for the actor that gives the matinee idol the chance to show off some heavyweight acting chops.

Writer-director Eric Heisserer, who adapted the movie from his own short story, fashions a lean and tense story built around a single actor and a single location. Indeed, Walker is front and centre most of the film, which sees him confined to a New Orleans hospital where his wife Abigail (Genesis Rodriguez) has died in childbirth. There is little time for Walker’s everyday man Nolan Hayes to grieve - born several weeks too early, his daughter needs the help of a respirator for the next 48 hours, but one by one, the circumstances start to work against his favour.

As the storm hits and the levees break, the hospital’s staff and patients are quickly made to evacuate, leaving Nolan stranded without medical help. Then the generators die, and Nolan has to hook up the battery in the respirator to a hand-crank generator which holds only about three minutes of charge each time. In the meantime, Heisserer cranks up the tension by keeping Nolan busy finding food, fending off looters, fighting sleep and trying to reach for outside help. Amidst it all, Nolan finds strength in reminiscing his times spent with Abigail, of which their baby daughter is her sole surviving legacy.

Shouldered with the responsibility of carrying the film single-handedly on the strength of his performance, Walker rises to the occasion with a nuanced and empathetic turn that .is probably one of his best. Unlike his ‘Fast and Furious’ co-star Vin Diesel who has had no qualms embracing an action star icon, Walker has tried in independent movies such as the little-seen ‘Vehicle 19’ to broaden his range. The fact that ‘Hours’ marks probably his most successful attempt yet at gaining serious actor cred is a pity, but like we said at the start, it’s as good a farewell as any.

On his part, Heisserer does a fair job sustaining the suspense of the movie. With a track record that includes ‘Final Destination’ and the ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ remake, it isn’t surprising that Heisserer often relies on horror tropes to hold his audience’s interest. Like most horror movies, survival is the running theme here, and Heisserer conveys Nolan’s struggle to keep his daughter - as well as himself later on - alive with palpable urgency. The pacing is a little uneven at times, but by and large, Heisserer pulls off his high-concept premise convincingly.

It is also worthy to note that Walker is listed here as one of the executive producers, his commitment to the project probably key in getting it made in the first place. Though there has no shortage of Katrina-based stories and documentaries, ‘Hours’ is a neat little addition that knows exactly what it intends to do and accomplishes it nicely. Yes, at its heart, this is a story of one man against the odds, and Walker in his everyman likeability makes for a particularly good fit for the character. It won’t win him any awards for sure, but ahead of his final ‘Fast and Furious’ film one year later, it is still a dignified sendoff for the genuinely affable actor.

Movie Rating:

(Not the easiest film to watch given its star Paul Walker's recent demise, 'Hours' is nonetheless a tightly choreographed drama that sees Walker at one of his finest hours as a dramatic actor) 

Review by Gabriel Chong