As a film from the BBC one suspects this was to be a TV film which turned out rather good so got a cinematic release.
Dame Judi is excellent as Dame Iris, the scene where Bayley is driven to distraction by her literally following him everywhere then wandering off is almost too painful.
This all left me rather depressed about ageing and what may be in store for my elderly mother.
What did really bug me was that it was never really explained fully that Dame Iris was not only a famed philosophy don but also a prolific and rather high brow author. We are told she was an author but it is left at that - whilst she was may be known to most educated Brits she wasn't exactly a world renowned writer and foreigners might have wanted to know what she wrote.
I don't know whether Dame Judi ever met Dame Iris, to whom she bears a striking resemblance in this film, but at the premiere on TV Jim Broadbent was shown meeting John Bayley for the first time and some discomfiture was shown by both, though it must have been very odd for each of them.
Dame Judi probably won't get the Oscar - it isn't a big enough film, plus she's a Brit.
Dame Judi is excellent as Dame Iris, the scene where Bayley is driven to distraction by her literally following him everywhere then wandering off is almost too painful.
This all left me rather depressed about ageing and what may be in store for my elderly mother.
What did really bug me was that it was never really explained fully that Dame Iris was not only a famed philosophy don but also a prolific and rather high brow author. We are told she was an author but it is left at that - whilst she was may be known to most educated Brits she wasn't exactly a world renowned writer and foreigners might have wanted to know what she wrote.
I don't know whether Dame Judi ever met Dame Iris, to whom she bears a striking resemblance in this film, but at the premiere on TV Jim Broadbent was shown meeting John Bayley for the first time and some discomfiture was shown by both, though it must have been very odd for each of them.
Dame Judi probably won't get the Oscar - it isn't a big enough film, plus she's a Brit.