Iris
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Movie Reviews of Iris
Movie Review: Superb performances make a great contribution to the book
Summary: 4 Stars
I loved the book Iris when I read it, and in my mind's eye I instantly cast Judi Dench as the right person to play Iris Murdoch. Lucky me, she is really superb in showing both Iris' fierce intelligence and her decline. But the performances that really overwhelmed me were Jim Broadbent's as the older John Bayley and Hugh Bonneville as the younger Bayley. Since Bayley himself wrote the book, it was sometimes hard to get a sense of him apart from his role as an author. Broadbent and Bonneville really make him come to life. If Murdoch's goal as a writer was to show "how to be good" and "how to love," then she learned a lot from Bayley, who appears to be both.My only caution is that if you have not read the book first, you might be a bit thrown by the constant shifting back and forth from the aged Murdoch-and-Bayley to the days of their youth. (For example, at one point the young Bayley opens a door to peek on Iris but when the camera turns to see what he sees we shift forward several decades and see the aged Iris instead).
Definitely worth seeing/renting/buying for the performances. I can't wait until Broadbent's next movie.
Movie Review: Reconnect with 'Iris' after seeing 'The Notebook'
Summary: 4 Stars
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.
Movie Review: A beautiful, moving experience
Summary: 4 Stars
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.
Movie Review: A fine piece of cinema
Summary: 4 Stars
The real life author Iris Murdoch - who wrote among other novels The Sea, The Sea -- is played by Judi Dench and this film depicts her slow decline from Alzheimer's. It closely examines the jolting effect it has on a strong and loving marriage. The scenes between Broadbent and Dench are powerful a piece of cinema as you could ever see. Of particualr note, Jim Broadbent won many plaudits and he deserved everyone of them for his portrayal of the sensitve caring Bayley as he despairs of taking care of his wife.
The film also looks back to their romantic beginnings and the triumphs of their life. It is very hard to see how they could have impoved the linkages between the scenes when they growing up and when Murdoch had gained widespread acclaim. In particular, Kate Winslet plays a very strong younger Iris.
I would have liked a little more on the books and a little less interest in Murdoch's sex life, but that seems to be focus of everything these days.
Movie Review: Anthony Minghella's fingerprints are all over this film.
Summary: 4 Stars
The great Anthony Minghella's fingerprints are all over this film, even if he only produced it and did not direct. His trademarks are here: the magnificent music, acting, cast, and a bold new direction for a film to take. All four of the principals, both young and old Iris and her boyfriend/husband, give stellar performances. This a film about a woman and her relationships -- with words, with her mind, with her friends, but above all with her enduring boyfriend and husband. It's touching, heartwarming, and heartbreaking to see the devotion, admiration, and adoration between them, especially looking from his eyes. A fine film, and one certainly not cast in any hollywood mold, which is such a treat to uncover. (hollywood is not capitalized on purpose.)