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Iris (2001 film)
Encyclopedia
Iris is a 2001 biographical film
that tells the story of British
novelist Iris Murdoch
and her relationship with John Bayley. The film contrasts the start of their relationship, when Murdoch (played by Kate Winslet
) was an outgoing, dominant individual as compared to her timid and scholarly partner Bayley (played by Hugh Bonneville
), and their later life, when Murdoch (now played by Judi Dench
) was suffering from Alzheimer's disease
and tended to by a frustrated Bayley (played by Jim Broadbent
) in their North Oxford
home in Charlbury Road
.
The film, which was 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.
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.
, 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 keeps 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 to become her caretaker, as his wife's mind deteriorates from the ravages of Alzheimer's disease.
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
that tells the story of British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
novelist Iris Murdoch
Iris Murdoch
Dame Iris Murdoch DBE was an Irish-born British author and philosopher, best known for her novels about political and social questions of good and evil, sexual relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious...
and her relationship with John Bayley. The film contrasts the start of their relationship, when Murdoch (played by Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet
Kate Elizabeth Winslet is an English actress and occasional singer. She has received multiple awards and nominations. She was the youngest person to accrue six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader...
) was an outgoing, dominant individual as compared to her timid and scholarly partner Bayley (played by Hugh Bonneville
Hugh Bonneville
Hugh Richard Bonneville Williams, known professionally as Hugh Bonneville , is an English stage, film, television and radio actor.-Education:...
), and their later life, when Murdoch (now played by Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
) was suffering from Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
and tended to by a frustrated Bayley (played by Jim Broadbent
Jim Broadbent
James "Jim" Broadbent is an English theatre, film, and television actor. He is known for his roles in Iris, Moulin Rouge!, Topsy-Turvy, Hot Fuzz, and Bridget Jones' Diary...
) in their North Oxford
North Oxford
North Oxford is a suburban part of the city of Oxford in England. It was owned for many centuries largely by St John's College, Oxford and many of the area's Victorian houses were initially sold on leasehold by the College....
home in Charlbury Road
Charlbury Road
Charlbury Road is a road in North Oxford, England, running to the east of and parallel with the Banbury Road.At the southern end of the road there is a junction with Bardwell Road, close to the Dragon School. 5 Charlbury Road is one of the Dragon School boarding houses. Linton Road crosses...
.
The film, which was directed by Richard Eyre
Richard Eyre
Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre CBE is an English director of film, theatre, television, and opera.-Biography:Eyre was educated at Sherborne School, an independent school for boys in the market town of Sherborne in north-west Dorset in south-west England, followed by Peterhouse at the University...
, is based on Bayley's memoir Elegy for Iris
Elegy for Iris
Elegy for Iris is a 1999 memoir by John Bayley, about his marriage to fellow author Iris Murdoch, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease in her last years. Bayley also wrote two more books about his life with Murdoch, Iris and Her Friends and Widower's Houses.In 2001, the film Iris was based on...
. The beach scenes were filmed at Southwold
Southwold
Southwold is a town on the North Sea coast, in the Waveney district of the English county of Suffolk. It is located on the North Sea coast at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is around south of Lowestoft and north-east...
in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, one of Murdoch's favourite haunts.
Broadbent received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
for his role. Dench and Winslet were both nominated, for Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
and Best Supporting Actress
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
respectively.
Plot
When the young Iris Murdoch meets fellow student John Bayley at the University of OxfordUniversity of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, 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 keeps 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 to become her caretaker, as his wife's mind deteriorates from the ravages of Alzheimer's disease.
Cast
- Judi DenchJudi DenchDame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
as Iris MurdochIris MurdochDame Iris Murdoch DBE was an Irish-born British author and philosopher, best known for her novels about political and social questions of good and evil, sexual relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious... - Kate WinsletKate WinsletKate Elizabeth Winslet is an English actress and occasional singer. She has received multiple awards and nominations. She was the youngest person to accrue six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader...
as Young Iris MurdochIris MurdochDame Iris Murdoch DBE was an Irish-born British author and philosopher, best known for her novels about political and social questions of good and evil, sexual relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious... - Jim BroadbentJim BroadbentJames "Jim" Broadbent is an English theatre, film, and television actor. He is known for his roles in Iris, Moulin Rouge!, Topsy-Turvy, Hot Fuzz, and Bridget Jones' Diary...
as John Bayley - Hugh BonnevilleHugh BonnevilleHugh Richard Bonneville Williams, known professionally as Hugh Bonneville , is an English stage, film, television and radio actor.-Education:...
as Young John Bayley - Penelope WiltonPenelope WiltonPenelope Alice Wilton, OBE is an English actress.-Life and career:Penelope Alice Wilton was born in Scarborough, North Riding of Yorkshire, to a former actress mother and a businessman father. She is a niece of actors Bill Travers and Linden Travers and a cousin of the actor Richard Morant...
as Janet Stone - Juliet AubreyJuliet AubreyJuliet Aubrey is a British actress, best known for her role as Helen Cutter on Primeval .-Career:Aubrey attended to King's College London, where she studied Classics and Archaeology...
as Young Janet Stone - Timothy WestTimothy WestTimothy Lancaster West, CBE is an English film, stage and television actor.-Career:West's craggy looks ensured a career as a character actor rather than a leading man. He began his career as an Assistant Stage Manager at the Wimbledon Theatre in 1956, and followed this with several seasons of...
as Maurice - Samuel WestSamuel WestSamuel Alexander Joseph West is an English actor and theatre director. He is perhaps best known for his role in Howards End and his work on stage. He also starred in the award-winning play ENRON...
as Young Maurice - Kris MarshallKris MarshallKristopher "Kris" Marshall is an English actor, best known for his role as Nick Harper in My Family, and as Adam in the adverts for BT Group since 2005.-Career:...
as Dr Gudgeon
Awards and nominations
- Academy AwardsAcademy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
- Best Actress in a Leading Role: Judi Dench
- Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Jim Broadbent - WON
- Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Kate Winslet
Academy Awards record 1. Best Supporting Actor BAFTA Awards record 1. Best Actress in a Leading Role Golden Globe Awards record 1. Best Supporting Actor
- BAFTA Awards
- Best British Film
- Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Jim Broadbent
- Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role: Judi Dench - WON
- Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: Hugh Bonneville
- Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role: Kate Winslet
- Best Screenplay - Adapted
- Broadcast Film Critics AssociationBroadcast Film Critics AssociationThe Broadcast Film Critics Association is the largest film critics organization in the United States and Canada , representing approximately 250 television, radio and online critics....
- Best Supporting Actor - Jim Broadbent
- Golden Globe Awards
- Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama: Judi Dench
- Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture - Jim Broadbent: WON
- Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture: Kate Winslet
- Los Angeles Film Critics AssociationLos Angeles Film Critics AssociationThe Los Angeles Film Critics Association was founded in 1975. Its main purpose is to present yearly awards to members of the film industry who have excelled in their fields. These awards are presented each January...
- Best Supporting Actor: Jim Broadbent (also for Moulin Rouge!Moulin Rouge!Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 romantic jukebox musical film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. Following the Red Curtain Cinema principles, the film is based on the Orphean myth, La Traviata, and La Bohème...
) - WON - Best Supporting Actress: Kate Winslet - WON
- Best Supporting Actor: Jim Broadbent (also for Moulin Rouge!
- Satellite AwardsSatellite AwardsThe Satellite Awards are an annual award given by the International Press Academy. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards.- Film :*Best Actor – Drama*Best Actor – Musical or Comedy*Best Actress – Drama...
- Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama: Judi Dench
- Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Drama: Jim Broadbent
- Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Drama: Kate Winslet
- Screen Actors Guild AwardsScreen Actors Guild AwardsA Screen Actors Guild Award is an accolade given by the Screen Actors Guild to recognize outstanding performances by its members. The statuette given, a nude male figure holding both a mask of comedy and a mask of tragedy, is called "The Actor"...
- Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role: Judi Dench
- Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role: Jim Broadbent