Iris (2001)

Iris is a 2001 biographical drama film about novelist Iris Murdoch and her relationship with her husband John Bayley. Directed by Richard Eyre from a screenplay he co-wrote with Charles Wood, the film is based on Bayley's 1999 memoir Elegy for Iris. Judi Dench and Jim Broadbent portray Murdoch and Bayley during the later stages of their marriage, while Kate Winslet and Hugh Bonneville appear as the couple in their younger years. The film contrasts the start of their relationship, when Murdoch was an outgoing, dominant individual compared to the timid and scholarly Bayley, and their later life, when Murdoch was suffering from Alzheimer's disease and tended to by a frustrated Bayley in their North Oxford home in Charlbury Road. The beach scenes were filmed at Southwold in Suffolk, one of Murdoch's favourite haunts.
The film had its world premiere in Los Angeles on 14 December 2001, followed by a theatrical release in the United Kingdom on 18 January 2002 and in the United States on 29 March. It grossed $16 million on a $5.5 million budget and received positive reviews, with praise towards the performances. For his role as Bayley, Broadbent won Best Supporting Actor at the 74th Academy Awards, with Dench (Best Actress) and Winslet for (Best Supporting Actress) also receiving nominations.
== Plot ==
When the young Iris Murdoch meets fellow student John Bayley at Somerville College, Oxford, he is a naive virgin easily flummoxed by her libertine spirit, arch personality, and obvious artistic talent. Decades later, little has changed and the couple keep house, with John doting on his more famous wife. When Iris begins experiencing forgetfulness and dementia, however, the devoted John struggles with hopelessness and frustration, and becomes her carer, as his wife's mind deteriorates from the ravages of Alzheimer's disease.
== Cast ==
* Judi Dench as Iris Murdoch
* Kate Winslet as young Iris
* Jim Broadbent as John Bayley
* Hugh Bonneville as young John
* Penelope Wilton as Janet Stone
* Juliet Aubrey as young Janet
* Timothy West as Maurice
* Samuel West as young Maurice
* Siobhan Hayes as Checkout girl
* Kris Marshall as Dr Gudgeon
Category:Films
Category:2000s films
Category:Drama films
Category:Romantic films
Category:2001 films
Category:English-language films
Category:American films
Category:British films
Category:2000s romantic drama films
Category:American biographical films
Category:American romantic drama films
Category:British biographical films
Category:British romantic drama films
Category:Biographical films about philosophers
Category:Biographical films about writers
Category:Films scored by James Horner
Category:Films about Alzheimer's disease
Category:Films based on biographies
Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winning performance
Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe winning performance
Category:Films produced by Scott Rudin
Category:Films set in Oxford
Category:Films set in universities and colleges
Category:Films directed by Richard Eyre
Category:University of Oxford in fiction
Category:Films shot at Pinewood Studios
Category:BBC Films films
Category:Films produced by Sydney Pollack
Category:Rated R
Category:1:85:1 Aspect Ratio Films