Iris (2001)
Review by HTQ4
Film:
DVD:

Features:

• A Look at Iris Featurette
  
• Alzheimer's Association Honors Iris and Jim Broadbent
  
• Trailers
  

My Advice: Own it

Iris Murdoch (Dench/Winslet) is known as one of the finest novelists of her time. Her private life was a roller-coaster of love affairs, but one man remained true to her throughout their lives, John Bayley (Broadbent/Bonneville). This film tells two stories about their lives: the love story of how they met and came to be together, and the sad story of her fight against Alzheimer's and its deep impact on both of their lives.

The story is remarkably well told, and it is very brutally honest in telling what happens to a person when they start showing the signs of this disease. The two pieces of the story are told together and I don't think it would have had the same impact if it had been told any other way, chronologically or whatnot. In order to see the loss that these people are slowly experiencing, we really have to see where it is they came from and what it is they have built together over the years. I know that Jim Broadbent won Best Supporting Actor, but in my opinion, his character was the centerpiece of the film. Every aspect of the story is told through his point of view.

All four of what I consider to be the principal cast (Dench, Broadbent, Winslet, and Bonneville) are absolutely flawless. Not only did they know exactly what their part in the entire film was, they seemed to be completely in tune with what their alter-egos were doing in the other part of the story. And they all went to some really dark places with their characters; they dove right in and got really bloody and dirty to tell this story correctly. The production design was incredible. The idea of their lives crumbling around them was thrown into sharp relief by the dressing of the sets.

The DVD presentation could have been a little bit better. What's available is actually very nice. There are basically three bits of bonus material, two of which are listed on the box: the "making-of" featurette and a look at The Alzheimer's Association honoring both the film and Broadbent for his work in the film. The featurette is better than some of the others that I've seen on other discs in that it details Iris the woman not Iris the movie. The Alzheimer's Association clip is a wonderful tribute and it really shows how Broadbent connected with this movie on a personal level. The final one is a Special Message from David Hyde Pierce about the Alzheimer's Association and the work they are doing to help fight the disease.

Like I said, the features that they have are rather good--it's just a shame there weren't more. Some of them are obvious--like a commentary from the four stars and director. Hearing them talk about the scenes and their interconnectedness as they went through watching the film would be priceless. Also, some more information on the author would be welcome--for example, let's say I'm interested in reading some of Murdoch's work. How hard is it to throw together a list of her books in a text screen? Answer: not very.

So, the film alone makes this DVD a permanent addition to your collection, just be prepared to trade it in for a better DVD presentation should one ever be released.