Taglines: Her greatest talent was for life.
Iris, based on the life of revered British writer and philosopher Iris Murdoch, is a story of unlikely yet enduring love. As a young academic, teaching philosophy at Oxford, Murdoch meets and eventually falls in love with fellow professor John Bayley, 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 Bayley’s eyes. He recalls their first encounter over 40 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 times frustrated yet devoted husband.
Iris is a 2001 British-American biographical drama film that tells the story of Irish novelist Iris Murdoch and her relationship with John Bayley. The film contrasts the start of their relationship, when Murdoch (Kate Winslet) was an outgoing, dominant individual as compared to her timid and scholarly partner Bayley (Hugh Bonneville), and their later life, when Murdoch (Judi Dench) was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and tended to by a frustrated Bayley (Jim Broadbent) in their North Oxford home in Charlbury Road.
The film, directed by Richard Eyre, is based on Bayley’s memoir Elegy for Iris. The beach scenes were filmed at Southwold in Suffolk, one of Murdoch’s favourite haunts. Jim Broadbent received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role. Dench and Winslet were both nominated, for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress respectively.
Iris (2002)
Directed by: Richard Eyre
Starring: Kate Winslet, Hugh Bonneville, Judi Dench, Eleanor Bron, Jim Broadbent, Angela Morant, Penelope Wilton, Siobhan Hayes, Juliet Aubrey, Nancy Carroll
Screenplay by: John Bayley, Richard Eyre
Production Design by: Gemma Jackson
Cinematography by: Roger Pratt
Film Editing by: Martin Walsh
Costume Design by: Ruth Myers
Set Decoration by: Trisha Edwards
Art Direction by: David Warren
Makeup Department: Lesley Smith
Music by: James Horner
Distributed by: Buena Vista Pictures (United Kingdom), Miramax Films (United States)
Release Date: January 18, 2002 (United Kingdom), March 29, 2002 (United States)
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