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Iris

Iris

Drama · Romance · 2001

True story of the lifelong romance between novelist Iris Murdoch and her husband John Bayley, from their student days through her battle with Alzheimer's disease.

Movie details

Iris

“Her greatest talent was for life.”

2001 Drama · Romance 1h 31m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.4 / 10

Community rating

True story of the lifelong romance between novelist Iris Murdoch and her husband John Bayley, from their student days through her battle with Alzheimer's disease.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Iris?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Richard Eyre

Written by

Richard Eyre · Charles Wood

Kate Winslet

Kate Winslet

Young Iris Murdoch

Judi Dench

Judi Dench

Iris Murdoch

Jim Broadbent

Jim Broadbent

John Bayley

Hugh Bonneville

Hugh Bonneville

Young John Bayley

Penelope Wilton

Penelope Wilton

Janet Stone

Samuel West

Samuel West

Young Maurice

Timothy West

Timothy West

Older Maurice

Court is in session

Put Iris on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.