Hours

 

Cast of Characters:

Nolan Hayes - Paul Walker

Abigail Hayes - Genesis Rodriguez

Director - Eric Heisserer

Screenplay - Eric Heisserer

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements including some unsettling images

      Paul Walker and Genesis Rodriguez star in the Hurricane Katrina drama-thriller Hours, the last completed film of Walker's career.

      Keep in mind, there are a few minor spoilers that I do have to reveal for this brief synopsis. In 2005, at the onset of Hurricane Katrina, Nolan Hayes (Paul Walker) receives the exciting news that his wife Abigail (Genesis Rodriguez) just gave birth to their baby daughter. What should be a joyous occasion for him is ruined by grief when he is also told that his wife died from complications during the labor process. His newborn daughter, born prematurely, has been placed in a neonatal incubator to help her breathe properly.

      With Katrina growing stronger, the hospital loses power and the people are forced to relocate, leaving Nolan and his baby behind. With no one coming back to help, Nolan must do what he can to ensure that both he and his baby survive.

      Like Tom Hanks in Cast Away, Will Smith in I Am Legend, and Robert Redford in All Is Lost (of which I still have not seen, thank you Kalamazoo theaters), Paul Walker performs most of the scenes by himself, a task nowhere near as easy as some might think it is. While Walker didn't blow me away, he still manages to pull off a fine, solid performance that required him to act a lot more than any of the action heavy films he was mostly known for ever asked of him. The problem is not Walker, it's writer/director Eric Heisserer. Prior to Hours, Heisserer was known for co-writing the A Nightmare on Elm Street remake (one of the worst remakes I've ever seen) and Final Destination 5, which - whatever. With this film being his first directorial effort, Heisserer makes the mistake of relying more on emotional manipulation to move the viewer. This is no more clearly evident than when we get the obligatory "flashback ghost appearance" from Rodriguez who quietly and sweetly reminds Walker that she'll always be with him and he'll be a good father. Sure, in a fantasy film that could work, but this is film supposedly set in real-life Hurricane Katrina era with a baby hooked up to an incubator running on a generator with a low battery recharge and every minute counts. That's a gold wrapped gift of a story setup for any filmmaker. We don't need cheesy pull on the heartstrings moments like what I just mentioned. Plus, unless your name is Obi-Wan Kenobi, force ghosts tend to be unnecessary anyway. We do get some solidly tense moments such as the ingenious ways Walker keeps having to come up with to keep his baby's generator going and the scenes between him and his daughter work and are the strongest of the film. However, it's a shame that the film falls back too much on sappy, pull on your heartstrings moments, and in the hands of a more experienced writer or director, Walker could've had much more to work with.

      As mentioned above, this was the last completed film of the late Paul Walker's career, who tragically died in a car accident this past Thanksgiving weekend. It would be disingenuous and insulting to say that I was a fan of his and that he gave an Oscar worthy performance in Hours. Walker gives a good performance - I'll admit, one of his best - in an okay film with flawed writing and direction. Although Walker has had smaller roles in great films such as Pleasantville and Flags of Our Fathers, I was never a fan of his work, most of which was the Fast and the Furious franchise. However, regardless of whether I was admirer of his or not, Walker was a man that had no regrets and was immensely proud of the work he did and was always grateful for his fanbase, and that is something I can admire about him. I give Hours a C+ (★★½).