"Iris" is the hauntingly moving portrait of author Iris Murdoch's grave struggle with the ravages of Alzheimer's disease. The film is brilliant on nearly every level and well worth seeing despite its depressing subject matter.
"Iris" is a character study that moves rather slowly, but I found myself quickly drawn in by the commanding performances of the four main actors. Kate Winslet and Judi Dench double as the young and old Iris Murdoch, respectively. Similarly, Hugh Bonneville and Jim Broadbent dutifully play the young and old John Bayley, respectively.
Normally having two actors for each character is a laborious distraction that forces the viewer to accept the actors as representing one character. That is not a problem in this film. The actors do a remarkable job of adopting the same mannerisms and vocal patterns. That, coupled with the physical similarities gained by great casting and make-up, blends the actors seamlessly together to form their characters.
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Not only are the actors believable in playing the same character, but more importantly each of the four actors gives a stunning and touching performance that makes it easy to see why three of the four (sorry Bonneville) were nominated for Academy Awards.
The script of the movie also is remarkably structured and consists of a delicate balance between the carefree beginnings of Iris and John's relationship and the heartbreaking end.
Such a plot results in constant jumps from flashbacks to current times, but director and screenwriter Richard Eyre does an admirable job of moving fluidly between the scenes, and keeping the film cohesive.
The use of flashbacks in this movie is extremely effective. On the one hand it offsets the seriousness of the disease with the much-needed humor and lusty frolicking of Iris and John in their early relationship. But while the flashbacks provide well-placed comic relief, they also poignantly reinforce the strength of their love, and in doing so progressively increase the emotion of the scenes in which Iris' condition steadily degrades.
It is a truly depressing and powerful storytelling technique to see the joy and hope of their young relationship interspersed with the hopelessness and futility of the couple's later situation.
The scenes from the past consist mainly of skinny-dipping sessions, scattered offbeat humor and explicit sex scenes. John and Iris are shown as a carefree couple that is hopelessly in love.
Then the scenes cut back to Iris and her horrible descent into nothingness. It starts slowly enough, with Iris simply forgetting a few appropriate words while writing her final novel, but her condition quickly deteriorates. Much of the film shows John hopelessly watching as Iris wanders lost through their trash-infested house, panics over simple statements and mindlessly watches children's television shows like "Teletubbies." The contrast between the younger and vibrant Iris and the older one who has lost all of her speech and personality is stark and terrible to behold.
This movie triumphs mainly because of the actors' performances. "Iris" is filled with subtle body language, tearful breakdowns and longing gazes. The truly powerful moments in this film are the silent ones - when John watches from another room as Iris struggles to think of a word, or when Iris is at the depths of her disease, struggling to retain some contact with John.
In the hands of lesser actors this film could easily have deteriorated into a horrific TV movie of the week. Instead, "Iris" truly is a film that showcases acting at its best, and it is precisely because of these performances that it is such an emotionally engaging film.
"Iris" is a great film, but that doesn't mean it is the most pleasurable to watch. The movie is very heavy, and some people might think the artsy symbolism spread throughout the film is a bit much. But if you are in the mood for something meaningful and engaging, and can tolerate the depressing themes, then you should appreciate this fine film and especially the fantastic acting.
Grade: 4 Stars
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