In association with

Iris [2002]
from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm
starring Judi Dench, Jim Broadbent, Kate Winslet, Hugh Bonneville, Eleanor Bron
directed by Richard Eyre

Features:

• PAL

Editorial Review:

A literary academic whose novels met with widespread commercial acclaim, the work of Iris Murdoch has a depth and elusiveness difficult to capture on screen. So for Iris, his first film as a director, Richard Eyre avoids the problematic novels and instead alternates the two phases of Murdoch's life as related by her widower John Bayley in his books Iris: A Memoir and Elegy for Iris. We see the headstrong and captivating Oxford undergraduate with academia at her feet, drawn to the gauche Bayley on account of his sincerity and understanding of what she needs to achieve for herself. Kate Winslet has the right combination of vibrancy and thoughtfulness for the young Iris, with Hugh Bonneville sympathetic as Bayley.

The other phase reveals Murdoch near the end of her life, struggling to complete what would be her final novel and fulfil her public engagements as she succumbs to the effects of Alzheimer's disease. Judy Dench has given numerous fine screen performances, but none as gripping nor so heart-rending as the ageing writer who withdraws into her own world--to the consternation, anger, then acceptance of her husband, movingly played by Jim Broadbent. Cameos from such actors as Eleanor Bron and Timothy West add to the overall quality, as does Eyre's lucid script, atmospheric location filming in and around Oxford, and an attractively low-key score from James Horner. Murdoch's novels may in future receive the kind of filmic presentation that does them justice. For now, this poignant insight into episodes from the life of a great modern writer is a must-see.--Richard Whitehouse

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

• "Wither shall I go from thy spirit?"
  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... more info

• A roller coaster!
  This film has frustration, selfishness, touching scenes and pivotal moments. Superb acting by Kate Winslet and Judie Dench etc. A fascinating piece of a decline in a writer's life. You either find Iris frustratingly selfish or admire the bold and experimental taste that feeds her imagination to the literary world. Some say what a cow others say WOw! Though it cannot be ignored that either way the film is an emotional one. It has captured authentically a part of someone's life. I'm glad I didn't watch this... more info

• A beautiful film
  Iris is a true story based on the lives of Iris Murdoch and John Bayley. The film rotates between present day (as it were) and their youth. Murdoch is played by Judi Dench in the present and Kate Winslet in the past. Whilst Bayley is played by Jim Broadbent in the present and Hugh Bonneville in the past and is seen primarily through the perspective of Bayley. I cannot praise these actors enough. Rarely do you see such performances. It is truly stunning. Its a film that shook me to my core. It was intensely... more info

• IRIS
  FUNNY, SAD, ROMANTIC, AND SHOCKING. BEAUTIFUL PHOTOGRAPHY. I LOVELY FILM FOR SENSITIVE SOULS

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