Iris

Rating:
Summary: Heartwrenching. A touching romance.
Review: Heartwrenching.

Story summary:

Iris Murdoch (Judi Dench - old; and Kate Winslet - young) is a renowned philosopher and author. The movie intermixes when she first met her husband, John Baylor (Jim Broadbent - old; and Hugh Bonneville - young) and her decline into Alzheimer's. I don't think it would be accurate to call Iris free-spirited, though in a sense that may actually describe her. She seems to be more along the lines of explorative. The movie doesn't tell us a lot about Iris's life before she met John nor much about her life in between meeting John and when she succumbs to Alzheimer's. Perhaps because of her fame we should already know about her (I am not familiar with her work). What we are able to pick up is that John was desperately in love with her when they first met and she eventually came to realize that she needed him. When the Alzheimer's worsens, though John has always loved her, it becomes apparent that they have both become very dependent upon the other.

My comments:
I loved the movie. The acting was superb. Jim Broadbent deserved the Oscar for his performance; the movie is worth seeing just for his portrayal. All of the others were very good as well. I think I am still surprised how comfortable Kate Winslet seems with her body (there is full body nudity in the movie, though I wouldn't consider it pornographic). What really makes this movie wonderful, besides the acting, is the love that you feel between Iris and John (both the old and young). You feel the loss. My wife and I are a young couple and thinking about growing old and having to deal with debilitating diseases really makes the devastation of Alzheimer's seem more real.

The jumps between the old and young versions of Iris and John made me hesitant at the beginning of the movie that it was going to be hard to follow. It really wasn't. Though the story wasn't continuous, I don't think it was intended to be. I also have to comment on their house. I know, some people like living like that, but wow. Anyway...

Overall, though the movie is sad and, as I described it above, heartwrenching, I would highly recommend it. Why four instead of five? I'm not sure that they really could have improved the story other than to give us a bit more information on Iris Murdoch, but I just didn't think it was a five star film.

Rating:
Summary: Painful to watch.
Review: Iris (Richard Eyre, 2001)

Iris is a great film, perhaps one of the finest I've ever seen. I won't be watching it again.

It is the true (but, as it's based on the books written by her husband, likely revisionist) story of two discrete and parallel points in Iris Murdoch's life-her and her husband's courtship, and her slow descent into Alzheimer's, culminating in her death in 1999.

Iris and John and played, respectively, by the teams of Kate Winslet (Quills, Heavenly Creatures) and Hugh Bonneville (proof once and for all that you can take a sex symbol and make him look like a geek), and Judi Dench (As Time Goes By, Chocolat) and Jim Broadbent (Little Voice, Gangs of New York). Both couples' performances have their strong points, to be sure, but it is the performance of Dame Judi Dench that takes what would otherwise have been a good above-average film and makes it into something both great and unwatchable.

Dench, in the last few years, has turned onscreen death into an art form. In Chocolat, it was expected, but quick and relatively painless. Here it is slow, lingering, devastating to watch as Murdoch loses her faculties over the course of roughly four years (the book she is writing at the beginning of the film was released in 1996). It is, perhaps, the finest achievement of a career that has never been less than great. (And yes, since I know you're going to ask after a comment like that, I HAVE seen Dead Cert, thank you.)

Finding the parallel between the two stories is somewhat difficult at first, but absolutely critical to understanding the reason that Eyre and co-author Charles Wood emphasized the things they did from Bayley's biographies. (It helps to know that Bayley referred to Murdoch during the last stages of her life as "a nice three-year-old." Keep it in mind while you're watching the film, especially when Winslet and Bonneville are doing their thing.) Without that, it is possible to mistake Iris for another of those recent films studded with great performances, but with little substance beneath (In the Bedroom, White Oleander, et al.). Rest assured, however, there is far more to this than the performances.

It seems rather odd that Richard Eyre, for almost twenty years from the release of the sweet and wonderful Laughterhouse, directed exclusively for BBC Television. Iris was his first big-screen film since. His next, The Assumption, will be directed from a script written by Anthony Minghella and starring one of the greatest actors of our time, Javier Bardem. And yet I find it hard to believe that, no matter how perfectly The Assumption turns out, it will have anywhere near the effect of Iris. *****

Rating:
Summary: A Bittersweet Tale
Review: Iris Murdoch (played by Judi Dench as the older Iris, and Kate Winslet as the younger Iris) is a free-living well-recognized author who falls in love with a rather "nerdy" man who later becomes her husband. As she ages, she begins to suffer from the symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease and faces losing what she cherishes most: her talent to put words on paper and make meaningful literature out of them. It is saddening to watch as even she realizes that her mind is slowly distancing itself from her grasp, and once it is almost completely gone, her dear husband must face losing her to a nursing home. The movie didn't pick up my, or my husband's, interest until about a half-hour into it. In fact, we almost turned it off. I'm glad we stuck with it. Iris was a very endearing woman, and her cherished husband was such the gentleman for the way he was devoted to her.

Rating:
Summary: Luminous acting, touching at times
Review: Iris, of course, chronicles the life of noted British writer, Iris Murdoch. It focuses on her battle with dementia late in her life, interspersed with scenes form her early relationship with her husband, when Iris was free-spirited. This contrast leads to many genuinely touching moments (note: although most of the audience where I saw the movie were elderly, I am in my 30's and found the movie touching).

The main reason to see Iris, however, is the acting. Judi Dench, Kate Winslet, and Jim Broadbent are all nominated for Oscars this year, and rightly so. They are extraordinary, as is Hugh Bonneville, who plays Iris's husband, John Bayley, in the early years. The acting is superb throughout, and as a result, there is rarely a false moment.

Despite these strengths, the movie was still somewhat lacking. Part of the problem is that we gain little understanding about what made Iris tick as a writer. The movie also lingers a bit too much on scenes of her deterioration. Most people who watch this movie are probably familiar with the effects of dementia, and the movie depicts these effects well and rather tastefully. However, at times, it became manipulative and ultimely repetitive. Overall, recommended, but not as good as it could have been.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful performances and direction make for a great film
Review: IRIS is a film tribute (I can't think of a better word after seeing this great film) to the life and times of the writer Iris Murdoch, whose books I hadn't yet read but will now seek out. I had heard of her story before, and I was more than interested when I learned both Judi Dench and Kate Winslet were playing her on the screen.

First and foremost I have to applaud the performances by the four principals, all of whom were excellent in their respective roles. What a quartet of actors when you have Judi Dench, Kate Winslet, Jim Broadbent and Hugh Bonneville (who deservedly has earned great notices for his portrayal of the young John Bayley)all in the same movie!

While IRIS is in the end a sad story about the tragedies of Alzheimer's disease and its effects on families, it is also a movie that hopefully will also promote awareness of it. I personally do not know anyone who suffers from it, but I feel that the movie will make more people aware.

Both the director, Richard Eyre, and Jim Broadbent had mothers who suffered and died as a result of Alzheimer's, so they understand more than any of us what its impact can be.

Certainly one of the finest film biographies we will ever see!

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.

Rating:
Summary: Exquisite Adaptation of John Bayley's Biography
Review: IRIS is one of the most exquisite film adaptations I've ever had the pleasure of watching. It's an intensely personal, and often intensely painful, look at the life and mental deterioration (from Alzheimer's) of Iris Murdoch, one of Britain's greatest authors.

IRIS is composed of two intertwining narratives, one of Iris as a young girl, the other as a mature woman suffering the pain and degradation of Alzheimer's. While the intertwining narratives are inventive and beautifully written, the success of this film really depends on the strength of the four primary actors: Kate Winslet and Judi Dench as Iris and Hugh Bonneville and Jim Broadbent as John Bayley, the husband who remained devoted to Iris until the end of her life. I didn't find the two narratives difficult to follow at all. I thought they were very skillfully done and, as a result, quite easy to follow. Of course, those familiar with the life and work of Iris Murdoch will have an easier time of it than those who are not.

Winslet and Dench are perfectly cast as Iris and both manage to convey her quirkiness, her femininity and her artlessness with stunning grace and compassion. Dench, who must portray Iris experiencing the deterioration of her intellectual powers has, perhaps, the more difficult role (and she plays it to understated perfection), but that takes absolutely nothing away from Winslet's stunning portrayal of the young Iris.

Bonneville and Broadbent have an even more daunting task as Bayley, but both actors play their respective roles to perfection. Broadbent is especially good and quite understated as he shows us Bayley's love for Iris even as his heart is breaking over the wife he knows is slowly slipping away from him. Murdoch's and Bayley's magical connection was, in large part, due to their extreme intellectual connection and Broadbent does a marvelous job of showing this while still conveying passion and heartbreak.

Bonneville also shines in this film. Just as Winslet is the perfect "younger" Iris, Bonneville is the perfect "younger" Bayley.

IRIS is a quiet, rather intellectual film that, at times, is absolutely heartbreaking to watch. It could have slipped into melodrama or sentimentality, but the strong and very believable performances of Winslet, Dench, Bonneville and Broadbent didn't let that happen. IRIS is a film that's been lifted from an ordinary biography to the truly extraordinary by the exquisite performances of its four principle actors. Anyone who's interested in Iris Murdoch or her writing really can't pass this one up.

Rating:
Summary: A Bittersweet Tale
Review: Iris Murdoch (played by Judi Dench as the older Iris, and Kate Winslet as the younger Iris) is a free-living well-recognized author who falls in love with a rather "nerdy" man who later becomes her husband. As she ages, she begins to suffer from the symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease and faces losing what she cherishes most: her talent to put words on paper and make meaningful literature out of them. It is saddening to watch as even she realizes that her mind is slowly distancing itself from her grasp, and once it is almost completely gone, her dear husband must face losing her to a nursing home. The movie didn't pick up my, or my husband's, interest until about a half-hour into it. In fact, we almost turned it off. I'm glad we stuck with it. Iris was a very endearing woman, and her cherished husband was such the gentleman for the way he was devoted to her.

Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Mind
Review: The premise of "Iris" is simple enough, but the history of Iris Murdoch and her long time lover John Bayley is a thing of fascination. Told through a series of flashbacks comparing the slowly ailing Iris to the younger courtship years of writers Iris and John Bayley, it's a masterpiece of editing. Iris is no sweet angel of the literary world, but a confrontative liberal progressive willing to explore every part of life she can indulge in. This proves a quandary for the young John Bayley (played by an amazing look-alike named Hugh Bonneville), whose is rather shy, but hopelessly in love with Iris. The acting is beyond superb with Kate Winslet as the young Murdoch.

Admittedly, there are the weepy moments when Iris adamantly refuses to give in to this disease, all in vain. There are the struggles with herself and her lover. The literary metaphors and ironies are abundant ("There is only one freedom of any importance, freedom of the mind") and the visual ones are somewhat cliché. Regardless, this is a fascinating work of acting by some incredible talents of our age. It's not always upbeat, but it makes you appreciate what you have and how little it takes to be happy.

Rating:
Summary: A beautiful, moving experience
Review: I didn't have the feeling I was watching a film about "Iris Murdoch, the famous novelist," at all. Indeed, this film could have been about anyone, for it was not so much a biography as it was a fable about the irony of life. The second half of Iris's life is played out like a grotesque parody or inversion of the first. The editing and symbolism are fairly oblique in their attempt to get across this theme, but there is no denying that this is an aesthetically stunning and incredibly beautiful film, if a little heavy-handed at times. James Horner's score is haunting, even though one wishes the BBC had gone for some homegrown talent.

The counterbalance to the tragic irony is found in the enduring love and warmth in the relationship between Iris and John, played touchingly by Judi Dench and Jim Broadbent, with Kate Winslet and Hugh Bonneville as the lovers in their younger years. The pain and anguish of Iris's descent into the late stages of Alzheimers are movingly portrayed.