Rating: 
Summary: Reconnect with 'Iris' after seeing 'The Notebook'
Review: For those viewers like me who recently saw and were pleasantly surprised by Nick Cassavetes' 'The Notebook,' I'd suggest checking out 'Iris', which has a very similar theme: two elderly individuals - one now suffering the ravages of Alzheimer's-induced dementia - look back at how they met. Unlike 'The Notebook,' the Iris' retrospective is done without subtrefuge.
The quality of the acting ensemble here is almost without equal: Judi Dench, Kate Winslet, the always underrated Jim Broadbent, and Hugh Bonneville (a slightly less known commodity on this side of the ocean, but a great talent in his own right). One of the neat things in this film is to see the Winslet and Bonneville draw characterizations of the young Iris Murdoch and John Bayley that *run through* Dench and Broadbent. So good, in fact, that I could have been convinced that both Bayley parts were being played by Broadbent. And I mean that as the best form of compliment towards Hugh Bonneville. Great acting.
Rating: 
Summary: A Truly Beautiful Mind
Review: "Iris" is one of the best movies that I have seen. It is also one of the hardest to watch. It is exquisitely made. Written and directed beautifully by Richard Eyre, who got career best performances from Judi Dench, Jim Broadbent, Kate Winslet (all three were nominated for Oscars) and newcomer Hugh Bonneville. But because it deals with the systematic destruction of a brilliant mind by Alzheimer's Disease, it is not easy to sit through. But it's worth it. The movie keeps from being a complete downer because it is ultimately a celebration of an extraordinary life and a tale of unconditional love.
Iris Murdoch was a brilliant woman, a novelist and philosopher whose insight into the human condition distinguished her from her peers. "Iris" dramatizes two periods of Murdoch's life, which are cleverly juxtapozed. We see the young Iris (Kate Winslet) as a promiscuous student falling in love with the meek John Bayley (Hugh Bonneville). They are an unlikely match. Iris is a woman wildly ahead of her time while John is shy and somewhat befuddled. We also see the older Iris (Judi Dench) as she is diagnosed with Alzheimer's and view her slow and inevitable decline. If the film elected to tell Iris's life story in chronocological order, it would be unbearable to watch. This way, the tragedy is easier to take.
Judi Dench outdoes herself here. She makes Iris's cruel destruction by Alzheimer's so believable that we stop being aware of a great actress inhabiting a part and see a real human being slowly falling to pieces. At first Iris forgets the meanings of words like "puzzled," and finds her latest book more difficult to write then the others. Soon this genius of a writer is gone, and in her body is a childlike presence wandering aimlessly through her house muttering incoherently about the mailman. What makes Dench's performance so moving are the moments when Iris has moments of clarity, such as when she is nearly hit by a car, looks up at her husband's face and says "I love you." It makes your heart break. This is an unforgettable performance.
As John Bayley, who helplessly watches his wife disappear, Jim Broadbent is equally outstanding. He deservedly won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his work. John has always depended on Iris, and now is forced into the role of caretaker. He is both angry, frightened, and devestated by what she has become. You can hear the decades of love and tenderness in his voice when he tells Iris "darling clever cat, you wrote books," when she remembers she was once a writer. Hugh Bonneville, as the young John hopelessly smitten with the incandescent Iris, is just as affecting.
Kate Winslet disappears into the role of young Iris just as completely as Judi Dench, and in doing so delivers some of her best work so far. Winslet makes Iris wild and impulsive, with a deep understanding of the world and a special gift for living life to its full possibility. When she tells John Bayley that "you know me better than anyone else on earth, you are my world," you can't help but fall in love with her too.
"Iris" is incredibly well made, and its most extraordinary asset is that its quartet of actors is so believable. You don't doubt for a second that Dench and Winslet, Broadbent and Bonneville, are playing the same two characters. And that is only one of this film's many outstanding achievements.
Rating:
Summary: Love Till Death Do Part
Review: John Bayley and Iris Murdoch were married for a long time and were in love. It wasn't always a bed of roses but they stood by one another even when she was stricken with Alzheimer's disease. John did what he could for his wife but he knew he couldn't do it alone.
For anyone who thinks that love and marriage are dead, watch this movie. Love and marriage isn't dead. Their marriage strengthened through time which made them have a profound respect for one another and a strong love that bonded them together.
Rating: 
Summary: A love story, yes, but...
Review: If you're looking for a truly great love story involving a couple's bout with Alzheimer's, forget the movies. Read the book "A Promise Kept" by Robertson McQuilken. Robertson was a college president for over 20 years, and he resigned from his position to care for his wife Muriel, who was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's at that time. As he said in his resignation letter: [Muriel] has cared for me fully and sacrificially all these years; if I cared for her for the next 40 years I would not be out of her debt. Duty, however, can be grim and stoic. But there is more: I love Muriel. ...I don't *have* to care for her. I *get* to! It is a high honor to care for so wonderful a person." Contrast that with Jim Bayley's abusive outburst towards his wife in the film, when he shakes her and screams at her "I HATE you, Iris, you stupid cow! I bloody loathe you, every bloody inch of you! All your frienda are finished with you... I've got you now, and I DON'T WANT YOU!" Then again, Robertson and Muriel's story didn't have the complicated issues of self-centeredness, jealousy, and control that Jim and Iris's story did. Robertson and Muriel have lived lives of fidelity, integrity, and commitment, and they both understood that marriage is first and foremost about personal sacrifice.I found it disappointing and rather annoying that in the film they had Iris repeat "Just hold tight to me and it'll be alright" and "Nothing matters except loving what is good" over and over, ad nauseum, throughout the film, as though those two lines were representative of her profundity. Didn't prove it to me, I'm afraid. But it did make me want to read what she actually *did* say and write, so I consider that to be a beneficial side-effect of watching the DVD. The one line she spoke that I did consider to be profound was when she told Jim he should accept her for who she was. It was obvious that he had difficulty doing this, both when she was young and promiscuous, with divided affections, and when she was old, confused and docile from Alzheimer's. The film portrayed her as happy and lovingly childlike, yet Jim seemed to be so focused on who she was in the past that he didn't seem to be able to find any delight or appreciation for the person she was in the present. She was no less lovable because she was no longer able to function as she previously had. The music for the film was absolutely lovely.
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