Wild Iris

This flick, which aired on Showtime under the title "Wild Iris", tells of a grandmother, her adult daughter, and a teenage son/grandson who live together in a SOHO wedding dress boutique. In spite of the pasty, made-for-tv "feel", "...Iris" showcases two excellent performances. Rowlands plays a mother in denial about her diseased relationship with her daughter, avoiding the truth while placating conflict with platitudes. Linney plays the daughter who tries to cope with good old mom using brutally frank honesty and vodka has her weapons of choice. Kudos to the pair of female leads.

Laura Linney and Gena Rowlands provide a well told tale of mother/daughter dynamics, and the failure of family. I have to admit Laura Linney is a surprise; she has always been believable, but this role is a bit different, and it works.

Gena Rowlands is the manipulative grandmother, who owns a bridal shoppe, and knows everyone in town. There is a very amusing scene where she manipulates a scruffy neighbor (Fred Ward) into shelling out a great deal of money for his pregnant daughter's wedding.

The score is very beautiful, reflecting loss (Linney is a widow) and hope for the future. Linney's son, Lonnie, misses his deceased father, and attempts to reach out to his grandmother. Linney finds herself trying to find a job in a new world (she has not worked in quite some time) She clearly loves her son, but has bought into her mother's negative comments.

This film is noteworthy because it is sensitive and realistic, while not overly negative. How does a widow survive her husband's suicide, her mother's controlling psychosis, her son's depression, and her own alcoholism?. A very timely movie worth watching. 10/10

Gena Rowlands and Laura Linney are two actresses who simply never turn in less than excellent performances no matter what the material they lend their astonishing talents to. "Wild Iris" offers them both a wonderful opportunity to display their craft. While the script is certainly above average, it does not quite make the grade to which they are so deserving. Ultimately these characters fail to convince, through no fault of the actresses, but rather to the writer's spurious characterisation.

While Rowlands and Linney are amongst the best performers of their generations, young Emile Hirsch shows much promise as a representative actor of his generation. He has a natural sensitivity and vulnerability which endows his portrayal with much conviction. He would reprise this role of a sensitive teenager anguishing over the death of a parent in a world that does not acknowledge his inner pain in "The Mudge Boy".

With three outstanding performances "Wild Iris" is certainly a movie to seek out, despite the deficient screenplay.

This is not a Hollywood "feel good" movie. It centers around a daugher, played wonderfully by Laura Linney, who abuses alcohol while she bickers with her mother. Laura Linney is one of my favorite character actors and turns in yet another exceptional performance as a bitter and frustrated mother and daughter trying to cope with the aftermath of losing a husband and moving back in with her mother.

This is a "slice of life" movie where we get the opportunity to see characters evolve through their life experiences. We come to care about the people in this movie and see them make mistakes and sometimes learn from them.

If you these plot-centered movies such as "You Can Count on Me", you will enjoy this movie.

Iris Bravard (Laura Linney) is an alcoholic mother and widow, living and working with her dominating mother Minnie Brinn (Gena Rowlands), due to the lack of professional and financial options. Iris has a sweet teenager son, Lonnie Bravard (Emilie Hirsch), who feels the absence of his father. Lonnie is divided by his feelings for his mother and for his grandmother. Minnie `builds' marriages through wedding dresses and parties, but ironically has destroyed her daughter's marriage. Iris` husband Ronnie Dale Bravard (Scott Gibson) had not supported the treatment spent by Minnie to him and committed suicide eight years ago. Iris dreams of finding a job and leaving her mother's home. Although having a very sad non-commercial story, this movie is excellent. First of all, due to the performance of Laura Linney and Gena Rowlands, which certainly are among the best actresses in the worldwide cinema industry. I believe that presently I am one of the greatest fan of Laura Linney's work, mainly since after watching `You Can Count on Me'. Gena Rowlands (from `Gloria') has always been a synonym of a good movie. Watching them working together, is a dream for a movie maniac like me. Then, because of the screenplay and director, who conducts the plot without being corny. Although having space for a melodramatic point of view, Daniel Petrie (from the marvelous "Rocket Gibraltar") conducts the dramatic story very honestly without any final redemption of the characters, except Iris. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): `Marcas de um Suicídio' (`Marks of one Suicide')