Movie: Iris and the Men

To the outside world a successful woman married with a loving husband, two delightful children and a beautiful apartment would seemingly have it all.

But what happens if you’re nearly 50 and you realise it has been years since you have had sex with your equally successful, handsome husband of over 20 years?

That’s the dilemma facing dentist Iris Beaulieu (Laure Calamy) in the French comedy Iris and the Men (Iris et les Hommes).

Her response – uncomplicated sex with men she hooks up with on a dating app especially for bored, married individuals.

From a slow unsure start, Iris quickly discovers the joys of sex with men of all different ages, shapes, sizes and economic backgrounds.  She has strict rules which mean she only ever sleeps with the men once.

While her actions have some consequences for her husband Stéphane Beaulieu (Vincent Elbaz) and two scholastically committed daughters aged 10 and 15 (Lili and Anna, played by Daphné Crépieux and Zoé Richard) Iris feels no guilt.  Indeed, she seemingly grows from her experiences, eventually benefiting everyone in her family.

Of course, there are a few rough patches along the way. Stéphane is not used to her going out as often as she now does, while her daughters are confused about some of her changed attitudes.

Her poor assistant at her dental practice, Nuria (Suzanne De Baecque), has to deal with the beeps of constant notification alerts on Iris’ phone, often during dental procedures, and the subsequent endless rescheduling of patient appointments.

Iris and the Men works thanks to the performance of Calamy who wowed audiences in the international hit Antoinette In The Cévennes.

She expertly portrays Iris’ range of emotions – from frustration and awkwardness to pleasure and confidence – with just one facial expression.  Her comic timing is a joy to watch.

According to writer/director Caroline Vignal (who also worked with Calamy on Antoinette In the Cévennes) Iris and the Men is based on true to life situations.

“It was four years ago. The last time I saw my friend Juliette, she was recovering as best she could, well rather poorly, from her separation: her husband had left overnight, after 20 years of living together. Juliette was then 51 years old – the age at which we women are struck by invisibility, according to some. But that evening, at this party, we only saw her. She beamed,” Vignal explains.

“A few days later, Juliette caught me up about what had been happening during the months in which we had lost touch. Seeing her wasting away, a friend encouraged her to sign up to a dating site. “It’s as if with one click, we had access to a parallel world, an invisible world,” she laughed, “the city of men!”. She told me about the likes that had boosted her damaged ego, the dick-picks arriving in bursts while she was at work, the dates, the rediscovered youth, the flamenco dancer lover 15 years her junior, with whom she smoked joints in the afternoon… “It’s raining men!”, she laughed, euphoric. That evening, my film was born; and it already had its song.”

Thanks to Calamy that film and its song It’s Raining Men comes to life in Iris and The Men.

Iris and The Men is playing in Australian cinemas from August 15.