“Iris” is a gentle biography of New York fashion and
interior designer Iris Apfel, now 93, and her husband Carl, now 100, directed
by Albert Maysles.
Iris usually appears in very intricate fashions, with huge
glasses. Although using a cane and
sometimes a wheelchair, she remains as intellectually sharp and wise as ever.
Early in the film, she is interviewed by domestic diva
Martha Stewart, in 2006 (after Stewart’s own return from incarceration and home
confinement for insider trading (there was a 2005 TV film by Eric Bross. “Martha Behind Bars”
with Cybil Shepard).
She often mentions a business connection with “Old World
Seamsters”, a name that reminds me of the novel “Silas Marner”.
Iris makes many comments about taking herself in
stride. She does not covet women who
were “pretty” but who “lost it” as they aged.
She insists on making herself as active as possible, not thinking about
aches and pains of aging. Her momentum
keeps her going. But she does mention
recovering from a hip fracture.
I saw the film at the Cinema Arts in Fairfax VA in early
evening in a small audience. However, I
had expected to see Joe Anderson’s “Pilot Error” (about a little known plane crash); it had played for only one day and was for a
while mistakenly listed as playing today.
I am trying to see if there is a DVD for that film.
The official site is here (Magnolia).
The new film “Iris” should not be confused with a 2001 film
by that name, by Richard Eyre, about Irish author Iris Murdoch (with Judi Dench). I remember reading “The Unicorn” many years
ago.
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