Iris (2002)

Those who thought Sir Ian McKellen was robbed of his Oscar this year probably hadn't yet seen winner Jim Broadbent's loving turn in Iris as the loyal husband of British writer Iris Murdoch (played seamlessly by Kate Winslet in flashbacks and Dench). The couple fought a losing battle against her Alzheimer's, and their campaign is the stuff of real romance. The film's hiccupy structure, replete with jumps from past to present that are often unwelcome, is a regrettable flaw that distracts from these performances. But forgive and forget, and focus on a man calling his wife a ''darling, clever cat'' when she remembers, in a moment of lucidity, that she was once a writer.