Iris
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Movie Reviews of Iris
Movie Review: "Wither shall I go from thy spirit?"
Summary: 5 Stars
Prolific English novelist Iris Murdoch (The Sea, The Sea, Under the Net) was a lover of words and the power of language. She was quite the avant-garde free-thinker as a young professor and the shy, stuttering John Bayley seemed an unlikely match for her, but fall in love they did and they shared a long and loving marriage. The movie focuses on Iris' battle with Alzheimer's disease, which gradually robbed her of the ability to use her beloved words. John cared for her and loved her until the end.
This is simply the best movie I've seen in a long time; the acting is superb as is the script. Judi Dench gives a stunning performance as Iris. It is heartbreaking to watch her steady decline, knowing how it must end. She was nominated for, but did not receive an Oscar, however, Jim Broadbent won one for his role as her steadfast husband. He, too, is perfect, tenderly caring for his beloved even when she doesn't know him. When the movie flashes from Iris' present decline to John's memories of their meeting and courtship, the younger Iris is well-played by Kate Winslet. She captures the love of life and philosophy that Iris had. The James Horner soundtrack is the perfect companion to the deeply personal and yet universally-understood story of unselfish love.
Highly recommended. (Bring your tissues.)
Movie Review: Bravo Madame Dench, Bravo Madame Murdoch
Summary: 5 Stars
The story of British novelist/philosopher Iris Murdoch is lovingly and artfully told as well as acted in this life-enriching movie. Whoever said that films of late have lost all of their heart and soul, have not viewed, "Iris."Judi Dench as the aging and increasingly senile Iris Murdoch plays a powerful and honest role. Kate Winslet as the ebullient, witty, and on the cusp of greatness young Murdoch plays the role truly, but really can not match Dench's presence. Murdoch's enchantingly scatter-brained husband John Bayley (who also wrote two memoirs about Murdoch that you may want to check out titled, "Iris and Her Friends," and "Elegy for Iris") is played by Jim Broadbent (the elder) and Hugh Bonneville (the younger). These roles almost hold up to watching Dench and it truly is uncanny how close the actors are made to resemble each other. I had to watch the credits to ensure that Bayley wasn't played by just one actor with a good make-up artist.
You watch with anguish as such a stark dichotomy is created between the beautiful mind and energetic soul of the younger Iris and the dilapidated and brain-dulled disintegration that the elder Iris falls into as she succumbs to Alzheimer's. Through it all though, it is not a story about a disease and dying. It is a story about how two souls can come together, two unlikely souls as different as they are in love, to express a love against all reason, a love that binds them through equally in times of joy and times of loss.
Movie Review: Poignant portrait of Iris Murdoch
Summary: 5 Stars
Because I have personally witnessed the devastation of Alzheimers Disease, I was hesitant to view Iris, which is an unflinching account of famed British writer Iris Murdochs battle with this monstrous illness. Now, Im glad I saw it. Its a beautiful film.Murdoch [1919-1999] wrote nearly thirty novels, most of which deal with the complexities and mysteries of human behavior. She also taught philosophy. She deeply loved her husband of forty years, John Bayley, a renowned literary critic. Her other great love was words. To watch her slowly losing contact with all she loved [and, thus, with all she was] is a deeply touching experience, though the movie can only begin to describe the real-life events.
Iris is portrayed as a young woman by Kate Winslet. Judi Dench plays the older Iris. Young John is Hugh Bonneville, old John is Jim Broadbent, who won and Oscar for his performance. The casting is perfect, not only because the actors are great ones, but also because they blend perfectly as the movie switches back and forth between the present and the past.
This is not meant to be a comprehensive biography. It touches on only a few highlights, which are meant to contrast the vibrantly alive and productive young Iris with the fragile and lost Iris at the end of her life. It is done with great compassion, and the result is perhaps the best illustration of the horror of Alzheimers ever put on film.
Movie Review: TRUE love story
Summary: 5 Stars
*****
This is a movie all should watch to understand love. Ostensibly about the deterioration of a brilliant writer from Alzheimer's Disease, this movie is really the story of love...how love changes over time, and especially,...how love changes with the ravages of Alzheimer's.
It sensitized me to the gift that each person in our lives has to offer---young or old---sick or "well". I have a family member who is inflicted with illness whom I love and this film inspired me to continue on, to love better.
The acting is flawless. I didn't realize until I watched the special features in the DVD that the male lead was played by two different actors (one younger, one older)...and the transformation of Kate Winslet (the younger Iris) into Judi Dench (the older Iris) was perfect.
This is a film we all should own...and watch...again and again...to fully understand true love---which increases with age and familiarity, but is incredibly complex. Words cannot describe this film, which I would rate a "10" out of "5".
If you have read this far---go ahead, buy...or rent, then buy..."Iris".
*****
Movie Review: A Beautiful Mind at the end of the road
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a beautiful movie though not especially enlightening regarding Murdoch's philosophy at all. Rather it is a romp through her life with John from their meeting and through flashbacks and returns a comparison of their lives together then and the present of the film. It would be a little too risqué to play for students in class though I suppose everything was meant to portray the character of Iris as John recalls her. What the movie does do is encourages reading since one is curious about what the movie leaves out - what she wrote. There are a few choice interviews that Dench does wonderfully. Of interest is the happy YouTube offerings of several interviews with Iris Murdoch so one can compare. But I suppose the main concern of the movie is to present the unfortunate future for many who live the life of the mind and the eventual loss of it. The surprise is that those who are so intellectually active (as well as active in other ways) might still suffer the consequences of a deterioration of the brain and loss of what most makes life worth living for them. Sad.