a film escaping to definitions. because it is an example of...magic. for impeccable performances of Judy Dench and Kate Winslet. for the essence of Alzheimer. for the portrait of an unique writer. for tension and for cruelty and for dialogue and for atmosphere and for something who, for long time, remains fresh in the memory of viewer. it is not easy to say why "Iris" represents more than a good adaptation or a great movie. maybe, because it is a story from yourself. or a mirror. for the references to the first meet with the style of Iris Murdoch. and for the remember of our extreme fragility. short, a film entirely remarkable.

Iris is a very moving film, in which Judi Dench and James Broadbent portray the ageing characters of Iris Murdoch and John Bayley, still much in love, as together they deal with Iris's Alzeimer's disease. The film is based on John Bayley's book of the real-life struggle which he and his famous literary wife endured. This stage of life is neither sad nor pathetic, but two people facing together life's sometimes cruel fate.We see through a series of flashbacks how they met and forged a lifelong relationship. The younger Iris and John are performed by Kate Winslet and Hugh Bonneville, as a fun-loving couple cycling through the countryside and going for swims off the nearest riverbank. Iris was a worldly woman involved with multiple male partners and John, a late-bloomer with a stutter, who doted on the gorgeous young Iris. Eventually, Iris settled into her role as a national literary figure, giving interviews and speeches in which beautifully crafted sentences rolled off her tongue. Then, rather suddenly, she was stricken with Alzeimer's disease.I was reminded of my own grandparents' fight with Alzeimer's as I watched Judi Dench in Iris Murdoch's character. Like my grandmother, Iris lost contact with reality and life ceased to make sense to her; yet, there were moments when she let us know that she still treasured those who cared for her. Physically strong and able to go for long walks, Iris had stamina that far surpassed her capacity to understand. These are the cruel ironies of Alzeimer's disease. As John Bayley, James Broadbent was the loving and faithful husband, who gave his all until he reached his own breaking point and agreed to put her in a home.Other actors who appear are Samuel West and Timothy West (in a brief cameo) as Iris's friend and John's rival Maurice in youth and old age; Juliet Aubrey and Penelope Wilton, as her friend Janet.John Bayley's book about Iris's illness has produced a fine film with great acting and an honest treatment of a real-life situation.

IrisA film about Irish Murdoch, renown British writer, who of Alzeihmer's and old age died. This is predominantly a story about love. Irish Murdoch marries John Bayley and they live a life together, until she dies. Rather simple, and rather straightforward. No surprises in this movie, and yet it is very beautiful one. One would think that to love is beyond words. But not for Iris. Her life evolved around words, and she famously said: "Without words, how can one think?" and yet she lost the ability to speak and think the way we do as she grew old. A rather ironic turn of events. But the story needed to be told. The love of John Bayley for Iris, throughout their young years until their old age was one that needed to be told. It goes without staying that with the heavy stardom of this movie, with the likes of Kate Winslet, Judi Dench and Jim Broadbent, acting is superb throughout. Take for example the scene where John& Iris return from the house of the man who was not the chosen by Iris as her boyfriend. John is rather disappointed that he has not read Iris' new book and says so as they walk back through the sunny street. Iris then turns on the threshold of her house, with a look of fear in her eyes, and doubt, and this is beautifully played. Or during the rather touching moments of John swimming in the ocean with his clothes on. What is more funny and cute than that, that shows love and simplicity and the joy of life?For the faint-hearted, this may bring some tears to your eyes, and for the rest, apart from the imbeciles that would actually not like this movie (not the ones that'd get bored, that I may understand) but who'd genuinely not like it, well, that is your problem, because a story has never been so nicely played out in its simplicity and with little words, in contrast to Iris' prolific writing.No reason to put stars for this movie, we are not in class anymore. Go see it! You will not be disappointed, and you will love it!

The Director and Screenwriter of Iris, Richard Eyre, states during the special features DVD Commentary that one cannot understand the enormity of the loss to Alzheimer's of the protagonist, novelist Iris Murdoch, without appreciating what was lost. So he divides the story of Iris into the present day narrative of her deterioration due to Alzheimer's and flashbacks to the courtship and eventual marriage of the younger Iris (played by Kate Winslet) to Professor John Bayley back in the 1950s. The young Bayley is played by Hugh Bonneville who bears a striking resemblance to Jim Broadbent, who plays the elderly Bayley opposite Judi Dench as the now afflicted elderly Iris.Because Eyre approaches Murdoch as a virtual seminal figure in the history of world literature, the flashback scenes add up to nothing much more than a hagiography. While the contrast between the two personalities, the mercurial, flirtatious Iris and bookish academician Baley should lead to some gripping tension, in the end there is scant conflict between the two. Yes, Iris's voluminous affairs are alluded to and there is one scene where she and Bayley have a protracted argument regarding those affairs, in the end however, there is little we learn that is interesting about the earlier relationship. While Eyre has the benefit of Bayley's recent recollections concerning the extent and scope of Iris's deterioration, the flashbacks are obviously based on distant memories of the relationship. In short, I don't believe that Eyre has made his case that there was a great 'loss' based on his portrait of the early Iris. As a young woman she flirted and had affairs with other men; eventually she matured and was a nurturing presence in not-so-confident John Bayley's life. Eyre's flashbacks are photographed quite nicely and the setting evokes the bygone era of the 50s. But I still want to know what is so special about Iris Murdoch. I might find that out reading her books, but it certainly is not conveyed here in this film.Eyre is on much more solid in ground the retelling of Murdoch's decline in more recent times. Judi Dench is excellent (as usual) as a woman who gradually deteriorates due to the ravages of Alzheimer's. The decline is subtle at the beginning as we see Dench struggle with language. Later, in a memorable scene, she is unable to recall the name of the then current British Prime Minister, Tony Blair (but remembers it later). When her novel arrives in the mail, she shows no awareness that she's the author and is more perturbed by the presence of the mailman ("it's only the postman"). More harrowing scenes follow: as she deteriorates further, she wanders out of the house, only to be found hours later by a former friend who attended their wedding (and who Bayley fails to recognize!); upon being told of the death of a close friend, Iris freaks out, grabs the wheel of the car Bayley is driving which results in an accident—she's thrown from the car but ends up lying in the woods on the side of the road, virtually uninjured.Jim Broadbent received the best supporting Oscar for his performance in Iris and it's well deserved. At first Bayley is in denial about Iris's condition. He continues to treat her as if she's normal. In a classic study of the stages of grief, Bayley (a suppressed character to begin with) finally lets out his frustration and anger as Iris's condition takes a turn for the worse. Eventually there's acceptance, despite Iris's complete loss of memory. At the end, Bayley is forced to put Iris in a home but is right there with her as she passes on.Iris is a graceful and beautifully photographed film. While the examination of Iris and John Baley's early relationship is superficial, the chronicle of Iris's sad decline is a textbook study of what happens to people when they end up afflicted with Alzheimer's. What's more, Broadbent and Dench, convey the intimate bond between the two characters despite the overwhelmingly trying circumstances.