Rating: R
Genre:
Drama
Theatrical Release: 12/15/2001(USA
Release Date: 08/20/2002
Dubbed: French/English
Sound: DD5.1
Run Time: 91 Minutes
Flags: Nudity, Adult Language, Sexual Situations
Distributor/Studio: Miramax
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, All Movie Guide