Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Kate Winslet | ... | Young Iris Murdoch | |
Hugh Bonneville | ... | Young John Bayley | |
Judi Dench | ... | Iris Murdoch | |
Jim Broadbent | ... | John Bayley | |
Eleanor Bron | ... | Principal | |
Angela Morant | ... | Hostess | |
Penelope Wilton | ... | Janet Stone | |
Siobhan Hayes | ... | Check-Out Girl | |
Juliet Aubrey | ... | Young Janet Stone | |
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Joan Bakewell | ... | BBC Presenter |
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Nancy Carroll | ... | BBC PA |
Kris Marshall | ... | Dr. Gudgeon | |
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Tom Mannion | ... | Neurologist |
Derek Hutchinson | ... | Postman | |
Samuel West | ... | Young Maurice (as Sam West) |
This movie is based on the life of revered British writer and philosopher Iris Murdoch (Dame Judi Dench), is a story of unlikely yet enduring love. As a young academic, teaching philosophy at Oxford, Murdoch (Kate Winslet) meets and eventually falls in love with fellow professor John Bayley (Hugh Bonneville), a man whose awkwardness seems in stark opposition to the spirited self-confidence of his future wife. The story unfolds as snippets of time, seen through older Bayley's (Jim Broadbent's) eyes. He recalls their first encounter over forty years ago, activities they enjoyed doing together, and Iris' charismatic and individualistic personality. These images portray Murdoch as a vibrant young woman with great intellect and are contrasted with the novelist's later life, after the effects of Alzheimer's disease have ravaged her. Murdoch's great mind deteriorates until she is reduced to a mere vestige of her former self, unable to perform simple tasks and completely reliant on her at ... Written by kem
"Iris" is an intense character-study that is full of bravura performances, but is also a film that struggles for greatness and never quite reaches the mark. Iris Murdoch was a great English novelist, arguably the greatest of her time, but Alzheimer's would strike the writer and eventually take away everything needed to continue her literary work. The film splits in two between Murdoch's early life (played by Oscar-nominee Kate Winslet) and her latter life (Oscar-nominee Judi Dench). What we see is Murdoch's relationship with her true love and future-husband John Bayley (Hugh Bonneville in the early sequences and Oscar-winner Jim Broadbent in the latter stages). "Iris" struggles as it goes back and forth between the early years and the latter years of Murdoch's life. This makes the film like a jumping-jack that just does not know when to quit. The film is not complimentary to Murdoch in her early years as she is shown as a teasing bi-sexual who basically uses men and women for her own personal gain. She is also shown as a somewhat cruel person who intentionally and unintentionally hurts those closest to her. Dench, on the other hand, plays Murdoch as a woman slowly losing control of those things most important to her. There are definitely flashes and similarities between the four actors who play the two characters flawlessly. Broadbent is best, but his Oscar win is not dominant by any stretch of the imagination. The film also looks somewhat cheap and rushed at times. It is just so British and the production values are not near as high as they really should have been. However, the film does show the Alzheimer's Disease in a very accurate way. Those who have seen it firsthand (I have) will find the film very difficult to get through because the research done for the movie is second-to-none. Those who are not familiar with the disease will find the film intriguing and interesting. "Iris" is a fine effort and the performances save the day on more than one occasion, but overall the film is not quite what the film-makers had hoped it would be by the final act. 4 stars out of 5.