Barnes & Noble

The marvelous Judi Dench reveals her versatility yet again, this time by conveying the heartbreaking sense of frustration that accompanies the dementia induced by Alzheimer’s disease. She’s totally convincing as British philosopher and novelist Iris Murdoch, a brilliant woman whose diminishing mental acuity gradually robs her of everything she once held dear. Lovingly attended to by her devoted husband, literary critic John Bayley (Jim Broadbent), Iris finds solace in the gradually receding memories of their days together as students. In extensive flashback sequences, Kate Winslet and Hugh Bonneville play the couple as adventurous 20-somethings, with Bonneville’s uncanny resemblance to Broadbent helping to sustain the illusion. Broadbent's Oscar-winning performance is a wonder of subtlety, as he depicts Bayley's pain at witnessing his formidable companion's long and painful descent. Director Richard Eyre (The Ploughman’s Lunch) coaxes a subtle, carefully calibrated performance from Dench, who is both wistfully elegiac and passionately defiant, according to the script’s demands. A touching love story at heart, Iris never succumbs to despair; instead, this movie celebrates life while acknowledging its fragility. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

Based on a pair of memoirs by her husband John Bayley, this biographical portrait of writer Iris Murdoch stars both Judi Dench and Kate Winslet as the philosophical author at different stages of her life. When the young Iris (Winslet) meets fellow student Bayley (Hugh Bonneville) at Oxford, he's a naïve virgin easily flummoxed by her libertine spirit, arch personality, and obvious artistic talent. Decades later, little has changed as the couple (now played by Dench and Jim Broadbent) keeps house, with John doting on his more famous wife. When Iris begins experiencing forgetfulness and dementia, however, the ever-doltish but devoted John struggles with hopelessness and frustration to become her caretaker, as his wife's mind deteriorates from the ravages of Alzheimer's disease. Iris earned a slew of Supporting Actor awards for Broadbent, including recognition from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and National Board of Review. Karl Williams

Los Angeles Times

It's not only that Murdoch and Bayley had just that kind of kinship over the span of a 40-plus year marriage, it's that the actors manage an identically close and intimate relationship both to each other and to the characters they play. Kenneth Turan

New York Post

Not just a fitting document of a life brilliantly lived but a vibrant, almost palpitating piece of cinema. Ann Hornaday

New York Observer

Kate Winslet as the younger Iris Murdoch and Judi Dench as the older version manage to bring the literary lioness to vibrant life. Andrew Sarris

Product Details

• UPC: 786936178272
• Source: MIRAMAX
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: Français, English
• Time: 1:31:00
• Sales Rank: 18,183

Features:

DVD MENU