Movie Ratings That Actually Work    Become a Member

"One of the 50 Coolest Websites...they simply tell it like it is" - TIME

Iris | 2001 | R | - 6.2.5

The story of the traumatic, devastating mental decline of celebrated author Iris Murdoch who suffered from Alzheimer's disease during her later years. Her devoted husband became her sole support and connection with reality. Murdoch is played by Kate Winslet as a young woman and Judi Dench as an older woman. Also with Jim Broadbent, Hugh Bonneville and Penelope Wilton. [1:30]

SEX/NUDITY 6 - A topless woman (bare breasts exposed) in a mini-skirt straddles a man (fully clothed) lying on a bed and moves rhythmically while another man peers at them. A woman invites a man to make love to her, she asks if he has a condom, she sits on the side of a bed taking off her stockings, then approaches the man and puts her hands in his pockets and they kiss. A man and woman kiss a few times. A woman tells a man about the sexual encounters she has had (not in detail). A man and woman are shown swimming nude in several scenes; we see the woman with bare breasts several times, bare buttocks and her pubic region, and the man is shown with a bare chest and bare buttocks a couple of times. A group of schoolboys and their teacher watch as a man and woman climb out of a lake; the woman is nude. A woman lies topless on the back of a boat (we see her bare back). Two women kiss, a man and woman kiss passionately by a window while another man watches from the street below, a man and woman kiss, a man kisses a woman's hand, a woman kisses up a man's arm. Two women shower together in a non-sexual context and we see their bare shoulders. Women are shown in evening gowns that expose bare backs, shoulders and cleavage.

VIOLENCE/GORE 3 - A woman grabs at the steering wheel while a man is driving, then opens the door and jumps out of the car while it is moving. A woman screams and thrashes in fear hitting a man who is trying to calm her, and a woman panics and runs through a crowd of people at a funeral. A man stumbles along a dark road with cars speeding by, falls down a hill and lands next to a woman who has also fallen down the hill. A man yells at a woman. A woman panics while swimming and has trouble getting out of the water. A man panics and drives recklessly. A woman wanders along busy streets. A woman is shown dead. A woman slips and slides down a staircase on her back; she is not injured. A cat and a fox fight briefly; neither is injured. A man and woman race on bicycles along a winding road. A woman appears frustrated and frightened several times. A woman is shown having a CT scan and we see x-ray images of a brain. A woman urinates on the floor; we hear a trickle and hear her moan. We see a retirement home with men and women in different states of alertness. A house is shown in disarray; the bathroom is filthy, books, papers and mail are piled all around.

LANGUAGE 5 - 3 F-words, 2 sexual references, 1 mild obscenity, 1 religious exclamation.

SUBSTANCE USE - People are shown drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Alzheimer's disease, mental deterioration, education, freedom, love, feelings, happiness, morality, passion, fear, homosexuality, bisexuality, the story of Proteus and Hercules.

MESSAGE - Freedom of the mind is the only freedom of any import and consequence. Love is the only language that everybody understands.

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


how to
support us

PLEASE DONATE

We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.

NO MORE ADS!

Become a member of our premium site for just $1/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we don't always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.

how to
support us

PLEASE DONATE

We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.

NO MORE ADS!

Become a member of our premium site for just $2/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we will accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we do not always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter

Know when new reviews are published
We will never sell or share your email address with anybody and you can unsubscribe at any time

You're all set! Please check your email for confirmation.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This