One of the most talked about films to premier at this year's SXSW Film Festival was writer/director Eric Heisserer’s breakout film ‘Hours’ (2013). Actor Paul Walker (‘Fast and Furious’- 2001, 2003, 2009; ‘Fast Five’, 2011) delivers the most challenging performance of his career yet as ‘Nolan’, a father who spends the night in a hospital during Hurricane Katrina choosing to risk his own safety for that of his newborn baby girl.
Nolan’s wife, ‘Abigail’ (Genesis Rodriguez), has just died during childbirth. On the same day, the devastating ‘Katrina’ envelops the city of New Orleans, leaving the city in total abandon and chaos in her disastrous wake. All the hospital’s staff and patients have abandoned the building for safety; everyone but Nolan. His baby daughter fights for dear life with every breath. Forced to make a decision between searching for a new operational hospital (close to impossible under such circumstances) and saving his newborn’s life, Nolan chooses the latter and stays put with his baby hooked up to an operating life-support system.
During seemingly endless ‘hours’, Nolan's baby girl hangs dangerously between life and death. Having also witnessed his wife die the same day, Nolan continuously flashes back to memories of her. While suffering at the mercy of the notorious hurricane and the almighty elements, he further faces the challenges of playing doctor to his child with the life-support’s dying batteries, famished and crazed looters and chaos-driven drugged up murderers all in one night. Near death himself and at his wits end, will Nolan and his newborn baby survive the ‘hours’?
Heisserer has written scripts to such feature films as ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ (2010), ‘Final Destination 5’ (2011) and the remake of ‘The Thing’ (2011). 'Hours' (2013) is his directorial debut. Look our for Heisserer’s upcoming films ‘Seized' (2014) and 'Story of Your Life' (2014).
Written by Vanessa McMahon. March 30, 2013.
Click here to see a trailer for 'HOURS' (2013): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G33DdYQZbas
Paul Walker as 'Nolan' in HOURS (2013)
