Iris

Film Review by Ben Nicholson | 29 Jul 2015
Film title: Iris
Director: Albert Maysles
Starring: Iris Apfel
Release date: 31 Jul
Certificate: 12A

As a modest portrait of an ostentatious fashion icon, Iris is an absolute delight. The final film by the equally legendary documentarian Albert Maysles (before he passed away in March) it is a warm and sincere portrait of a woman who is irresistibly great company. The nonagenarian Iris Apfel has been a landmark of the New York fashion landscape for decades, renowned for her signature spectacles and her bold and – dare it be said – gaudy tastes. “It's better to be happy than well dressed,” she says.

Her style is all about layers of accessories creating an intricate composition and Maysles echoes this with a film in which the minor incursions below the surface provide touching depth. Much like her inimitable look, the camera can almost lose Iris amid the flamboyance of penny clothes stores and her cluttered townhouse but her straight-talk cuts through. Perennially busy, she’s New York royalty, here presented almost as an embodiment of the city, and one it’s hard not to heart just as much.


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Released by Dogwoof http://www.irismovie.co.uk