Iris
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Movie Reviews of Iris
Movie Review: Winslet & Dench shine in this moving film about Iris Murdoch
Summary: 5 Stars
Kate Winslet and Judi Dench both do wondrously in this film about the British novelist Iris Murdoch, the noted writer who late in life faced the ravages of Alzheimers disease, and with it the slow and sorrowful withering of her once brilliant intellect. Winslet as the younger Iris absolutely shines.. her freedom of self, her strong and vibrant personality, her utter love affair with life all come through to the viewer, clear and bright. In turn, Dench's acting truly inhabits the character of Murdoch, as she slowly loses touch with the world around her, with the thoughts that had once come so quickly and effortlessly and creatively.
Broadbent shines here too, as Murdoch's husband, the writer John Bayley (who himself had only good things to say about the film, upon its release). Broadbent won the Best Supporting actor Oscar for his performance here as the patient yet all too human husband, content with a life somewhat in the sidelines, of watching the brilliant light of his wife shine on him, standing by her during her youthful indiscretions and all along their lives together until her Alzheimers began to invade their lives like an unwanted guest overstaying its welcome. As their house grows more and more messy, disheveled, confused, and their lives more and more removed from those they had once known, of intellectual examination and full-hearted vigor, Bayley remains noble in his love for Iris, loving her faithfully until the end, despite the occasional outpouring of sadness and even anger that his beloved has to endure such undue suffering. In fact, what is most touching here is the fact that though the two once shared all, experiences, thoughts, themselves together and alone, as only those who co-habitate for decades can do, this passage was one which they would both experience so differently, both utterly alone in their experience for the first time since they met, even though physically near each other. (Murdoch, in one of her moments of clarity, seemed to show she understood what was happening to her, but these moments didn't last long, and the darkness soon enveloped her more fully). I think this was the most tragic part of the film, seeing Broadbent/Bayley try to come to terms with not being able to cope with her illness together in any sort of real sense as she slipped away from him. He had to be her anchor and rock, and had no one doing the same for him, as he guided her through her last days.
The scenes of the young duo here, on bicycles, and swimming in the British summer sun, are truly beautiful, and will stay with the viewer long after the credits start to roll.. this is one of those rare love stories, imperfect, true, painful at times also, but rarer still is that it was real, and that it lasted through a lifetime of ups and downs, triumphs and sorrows, even throughout illness, and never faded away. Indeed one could say it grew stronger through the rainy days, and changed, as real and true love so often can... As Bayley became more of a parent and less of a lover/husband, his love shone on in a different way, and the comfort he gave to his wife, who needed it so very much, was immeasurable.
I recommend this film to fans of Murdoch, Winslet and Dench, and to those in the mood to see a lovingly crafted portrait of lovingly crafted lives. 5 stars.
Movie Review: Painful to watch.
Summary: 5 Stars
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. *****
Movie Review: Celestia Fox Shines
Summary: 5 Stars
One of my favorite aspects of this film is the superb casting! Celestia Fox who also cast "The Madness of King George" and "An Ideal Husband" does a magnificent job of bringing just the right actors together. The leads are exquisite. Judi Dench and Kate Winslet, never previously mistaken as twins, seem remarkably well fit, unified by hairdo and harmonized in temperment. Jim Broadbent and Hugh Bonneville are so superbly matched that I really wondered if it were the same actor! Broadbent was superb in both "Topsy Turvy" & "Moulin Rouge," but touches us fully as the older John Bayley, fully deserving his Best Supporting Actor Oscar & Golden Globe. Even the lover/friend Maurice, who as a young man serves lobster and as an old man returns Iris from the grocer's, was played by the father/son team of Samuel and Timothy West & is perfect! I thought there was a family resemblance, and will have to watch "Howard's End" again to spot Sam. Even Penelope Wilton who flits briefly on screen as best friend Janet Stone turns in a remarkably deep performance. I felt a bit sorry for Hugh Bonneville who first came to my attention in "Notting Hill" for not also getting a nomination, because he was delightful as the romanticly naive young John Bayley. The DVD version is good. I appreciated the featurette and how director Eyre used Iris' life as a vehicle for telling this amazing love story. Those expecting a biography will be a tad disappointed; but those wanting a deep and rich film will be elated. It was also touching to see the film awarded recognition by the Alzheimer's Association. Murdock's "The Unicorn" is now on my reading stand, which will be the first of hers I've read; so any film that makes me want to discover an author must have been moving. This is a special, deeply moving, perfectly cast, cinematic jewel. Enjoy!Movie Review: Love Does Not Cure Everything, But It Helps A Lot
Summary: 5 Stars
"Iris" is not an easy to movie to watch. It is very painful and it can be unberable to some people. But in the end you see how much it means to have someone to support and love you -- mainly when you need. The film tells the story of the British novelist and phlisopher Iris Murdoch. Alternating scenes from the young Iris (Kate Winslet) and the old (Judi Dench) the film shows the most important periods of her relationship with the love of her life John Bayley ( Hugh Bonneville and Jim Broadbent). So we see when they first met and how they develop such a relarionship founded on love, friendship and mutual admiration. And we also see their last days, when the desease dominates Iris' mind.
The cast is simply a wonderful. No actor is in the wrong place and the four central actors who plays the couple in different times of their lives are stunning. Kate Winslet once more is brilliant as the young Iris who is beautiful inteligente and fierce. Judi Dench as the older Iris is centred and calm, but still brilliant and the moments when the diseades dominates her mind she is perfect. Jim Broadbent really deserved his Oscar as Iris soul mate. He is the one who helps her to fight the disease, despite the fact it is a lost battle -- as all doctors say.
The direction is simple and quite effective. The screenplay may sound confusing at first, but it is not. The writer meant to show how close facts that happen to the young Iris to the old one are.
Love can not cure anything, but with this movie we see how it helps when hard times come. Iris and John had only each other to support, and they did so until the last minute. Another thing, after seeing the movie, I'm feeling very temptead to read some of Iris' novels.
Movie Review: Iris
Summary: 5 Stars
One who watches "Iris" will be fortunate to view not only one great performance, but four gifted and talented actors in a deep emotive and true movie. "Iris" is irish writer and philosopher Iris Murdoch's biography, based on a book written by her husband, John Bayley. The movie is divided in two parts, one placed in the fifties, with Iris played by Kate Winslet and Bayley played by Hugh Boneville (from "Notting Hill"). The other part is placed in the nineties, with Judi Dench as Iris and amazing Jim Broadbent as her husband. Scenes from the two timelines are shown one following the other, but this never leave the viewer confused, because director Richard Eyre was able to relate the scenes from the 50s and the scenes from the 90s in an intelligent way.
The movie is very simple, leaving room for the outstanding performances by the four mentioned actors. Boneville and Broadbent are both great as Iris' husband, even to the point of being physically alike. Both are excellent depicting the shy, merry and sometimes naive John Bayley. Judi Dench and Kate Winslet, are competent as ever, playing Iris Murdoch. The director and both actresses do a very effective job in portraiyng Iris' transformation, from a bold, forward young woman (at least for 1950 standards) into a serious, independent and, finally, Alzheimer's afflicted older lady.
In short, a movie based in a beautiful, though very sad story: Iris Murdoch'and John Bayley's story, their life together, Iris' passion for words, her desire to write meaningful novels based on her true emotions and life experience.
Grade 8.7/10