Stephen Daldry opens the film with Virginia Woolf taking her own life. She is the beginning of the story that leads to Clarissa planning a party for her friend who's just received a lifetime achievement award for his poetry. We see how the actions of a woman over half a century prior will directly effect this woman's life by this imagery. Daldry is able to inter-cut the stories of Virginia, Laura and Clarissa in such a way to heighten the reveal that Richard is Laura's little boy, and the profound effect her she had upon him which came from a yearning to leave, possibly brought forth by the pages of Woolf's novel, Mrs. Dalloway. Mr. Daldry creates a film that shows the ripple effects of literature upon the world.
Daldry uses a push in shot to great effect with Clarissa's breakdown in the kitchen with Louis. They both end in a close up which allows us to see that though these characters are not the same; they are, in this moment, connected to one another as never before. Daldry also connects scenery to relate directly to the character's journeys. One instance is after Mr. and Mrs. Woolf have just had the argument about going back to London we see the train pulling in to the station. It carries the great, unstoppable weight of Virginia's never-ending quest to return to London and Leonard's fight to keep her sane and alive.
Daldry also creates a poetic moment as Richard speaks of meeting Clarissa while sitting in the windowsill. This beautiful sequence turns to tragedy as he rolls himself out and kills himself in front of her. His death is connected to Woolf saying to her husband that she will kill the poet in her story. The film becomes about, well, the hours that we must pass in the wake of the tragedies of our lives. It is our choice as to how we spend them.
