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Iris is based on Peter Conradi's Biography entitled Elegy For Iris, a portrayal of the life of Dame Iris Murdoch, a highly influential and well-respected Irish born poet and author who died on February 8, 1999 after a long struggle with Alzheimers Disease. The movie follows the life of the Booker Prize winner who was known and admired for her love of life and celebration of humanity through her deeply philosophical stories. The book on which the movie is based on tries to focus mainly on her life before she met her somewhat famous husband John Bayley but also uses Bayley's memoirs to paint a portrait of the woman in her later years and up leading to her death at the devastating hands of Alzheimers.

The movie is told in two separate timelines. The life of young Iris is played out by Kate Winslet in the title role and Hugh Bonneville as the young John Bayley. This part of the movie will deal with the many loves and hardships with which Dame Iris had to contend, leading up to and including her meeting and falling in love with Bayley. The other timeline, that of the older Dame Iris, is played out by Dame Judy Dench in the title role and John Broadbent as John Bayley. The film is directed by Richard Eyre who received assistance from the BBC in financing the film.

The film is being released in limited release for a brief run to make it eligible for Oscar consideration, and might be in the running for such categories as Best Adapted Screenplay as well as a couple of acting categories. Dench has become a staple of the Oscars and she will most likely have her name read as a nominee for either Iris or The Shipping News. Winslet was nominated for her work on Titanic but has been involved with mostly low-budget, non-Hollywood films since then. The film is a heartbreaker of sorts and will try to make its audience shed a few tears, which might translate well into box office success if the academy does indeed fall for Iris. (Walid Habboub/BOP)

Vital statistics for Iris Main Cast Judi Dench, Jim Broadbent, Kate Winslet, Hugh Bonneville Supporting Cast Penelope Wilton, Eleanor Bron, Angela Morant Director Richard Eyre Screenwriter Richard Eyre, Charles Wood Distributor Miramax Trailer Click Here for Trailer Rating R Running Time 91 minutes Screen Count 2 Awards Awards page for Iris Talent in red has entry in The Big Picture

Comparison films for Iris
Title	Date	Opening	Adjusted Opening	Screens	PSA	Adj PSA	Total BO	Adjusted Total	Mult
Elizabeth	11/25/98	3.39	4.35	516	6570.00	8124.9	30.01	38.58	7.80
Michael Collins	10/25/96	2.41	3.28	748	3222.00	4228.0	11.06	15.08	4.38
In the Name of the Father	2/25/94	1.96	2.89	669	2930.00	4165.2	25.10	37.09	6.21