Lovin’ the lady of lit

>> Iris is a sad-but-not-tragic tribute film

by JOANNE LATIMER

Iris Murdoch and John Bayley were lovers for 40 years but it wasn’t the kind of relationship where they finished each other’s sentences. John wouldn’t dare. He was too awe-struck by Iris, the brilliant scholar, philosopher and novelist, to do much more than dote. Bayley is at the centre of this biopic, titled simply Iris, which was culled from his memoirs. Remarkably tender and simple, this film is an arty chronicle of life in the shadows of a literary icon.

Don’t expect much bitterness from Bayley. He was devoted to Iris and tolerant of her infidelities, libertarian way and bisexual entanglements. Although a celebrated literary critic in his own right, Bayley didn’t seem to mind that Iris got the lion’s share of the accolades. The film does a remarkable job plotting the early and late portions of their life together without defaulting to obvious fights about their power imbalance.

Technically, director Richard Eyre pulls off a risky gimmick: he uses four actors to portray the leads at two stages of their lives. Kate Winslet and Hugh Bonneville play the young couple during their early days at Oxford, while Judi Dench and Jim Broadbent play the aging duo. This means the plot flip-flops between the ’50s and the ’90s, when Iris got Alzheimer’s disease. We see how the early days of their affair sets up their romantic dynamic for the next 40 years.

Is it tragic? Only if you view life from the youth-obsessed perspective of the last and current century. It’s really a tribute film and love story. Eyre moves his film effortlessly between the two time periods with help from the mega-talented cast and his editor’s inventive segues. Of course, people will fall all over themselves praising Judi Dench, who is the vision of Iris, while noting Jim Broadbent as an “also ran”—mirroring their characters’ real lives.
For an old British theatre pro like Eyre, his film isn’t shy on cinema magic. He ends Iris with an unforgettable montage that will remind audiences of the last sentence in Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient. Readers will know it, and readers will see this film. :

Iris opens Friday, March 1