5/5 A Beautiful Mind at the end of the road
  by W. Jamison (Eagle River, Ak United States)
This is a beautiful movie though not especially enlightening regarding Murdoch's philosophy at all. Rather it is a romp through her life with John from their meeting and through flashbacks and returns a comparison of their lives together then and the present of the film. It would be a little too risqué to play for students in class though I suppose everything was meant to portray the character of Iris as John recalls her. What the movie does do is encourages reading since one is curious about what the movie leaves out - what she wrote. There are a few choice interviews that Dench does wonderfully. Of interest is the happy YouTube offerings of several interviews with Iris Murdoch so one can compare. But I suppose the main concern of the movie is to present the unfortunate future for many who live the life of the mind and the eventual loss of it. The surprise is that those who are so intellectually active (as well as active in other ways) might still suffer the consequences of a deterioration of the brain and loss of what most makes life worth living for them. Sad.

4/5 Love Can Conquer All- Almost
  by prisrob (New EnglandUSA)
"The absolute yearning of one human body for another particular body and its indifference to substitutes is one of life's major mysteries." Iris Murdock

I love the writing of Iris Murdock and her quotes even more so. The film about her life and her slip into oblivion is a marvelous feat. How could a book written by her husband, John Bayle be so provocative and fascinating? It is the four actors who play Iris and John in their 43 year marriage that makes this film a true treasure. Iris was born of Irish parents and moved to London as a small child. She was an intelligent, out spoken young woman and took up Literature at Oxford. It was during this time that she met John. Kate Winslet and Hugh Bonneville play the young couple. A more two unlikely pair. Iris outgoing, outspoken and with many friends. John introverted, someone who stuttered with few friends. But fall in love they did- both highly intelligent- John was a literature professor and Iris wrote books- wonderful books that gained her fame and she became a Dame of the Empire. They settled into their lives with their writings and their friends.

As Iris approached the age of 55 she noted forgetfulness, unable to remember a word here and there. At this age, Judi Dench and Jim Broadbent played their aging counterparts. Iris was examined and in the film no diagnosis was spoken, but we know it is Alzheimer. Judi Dench plays an amazing Iris during this period. Her every glance and facial expression give us the feel of one who is slipping away. It is Jim Broadbent as John who is amazing. As a caretaker he exhibits the grace of one who loves, but also the lethargy and extreme fatigue of caring for someone who is active but must be watched at all times. He is in a time and place of his own, but he insists upon caring for Iris by himself. As time goes on we see him slip into forgetfulness himself, until he realizes he must do something.

An amazing film, difficult to view at times if you have someone who is slipping away. But for all of us who love someone and for those of us who care, we view this film as a devoted husband giving his loved wife the tribute she deserves.

Recommended. prisrob 03-22-09

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Revolutionary Road

Heroes & Villains: The Last Englishman





3/5 Terribly sad
  by Bradley F. Smith (Miami Beach, FL)
If your idea of entertainment is watching a brilliant mind dissolve into dementia, then this one's for you. Dench is great, as usual. Based on the husband's tribute book, the movie alternates back and forth between the present and the past to give a picture of the couple's marriage and early days. It's a real weeper.

4/5 Sad and lovely
  by Nicole Bradshaw (Jackson, MS USA)
This film details the relationship between John (Bonneville/Broadbent) and Iris (Winslet/Dench), two young academics who meet, fall in love, and marry. John seems in a perpetual state of admiration for Iris, who blossoms into a celebrated novelist. Clearly, John is the lover and Iris is the loved in their relationship. Iris is the sun, and John is the planet that orbits around her. And John seems ecstatic that this is the nature of things.

As the two age, however, Iris falls prey to Alzheimer's, and her fine mind, which has always been her greatest attribute (and one of John's greatest loves), begins to fail. The story follows John and Iris as the illness takes greater possession of her and John struggles to cope without the central force/focus of his life.

Performances are wonderful in this, particularly those of Broadbent and Dench. Hugh Bonneville gives an uncanny take on a young Jim Broadbent/John Bayley. This movie is sad, because it is about losing someone that you love. But there are hopeful moments, too, when John celebrates the pieces of Iris that are still left to him, the brief moments of lucidity that the universe seems to grant her.

I find it interesting that, though Iris Murdoch is much more widely-published than Bayley has been (most of his work is literary criticism), it is his silm, loving volume of tribute to her that is so well-known. Broadbent won an Oscar for portraying Bayley in this film, and it was well-deserved.

Worth seeing.

5/5 "Wither shall I go from thy spirit?"
  by Kona (Emerald City)
Prolific English novelist Iris Murdoch (The Sea, The Sea, Under the Net) was a lover of words and the power of language. She was quite the avant-garde free-thinker as a young professor and the shy, stuttering John Bayley seemed an unlikely match for her, but fall in love they did and they shared a long and loving marriage. The movie focuses on Iris' battle with Alzheimer's disease, which gradually robbed her of the ability to use her beloved words. John cared for her and loved her until the end.

This is simply the best movie I've seen in a long time; the acting is superb as is the script. Judi Dench gives a stunning performance as Iris. It is heartbreaking to watch her steady decline, knowing how it must end. She was nominated for, but did not receive an Oscar, however, Jim Broadbent won one for his role as her steadfast husband. He, too, is perfect, tenderly caring for his beloved even when she doesn't know him. When the movie flashes from Iris' present decline to John's memories of their meeting and courtship, the younger Iris is well-played by Kate Winslet. She captures the love of life and philosophy that Iris had. The James Horner soundtrack is the perfect companion to the deeply personal and yet universally-understood story of unselfish love.

Highly recommended. (Bring your tissues.)