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Mr Turner
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Mr Turner
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- 2014
- Mike Leigh
- 143 mins
- 12A
Summary
Period biographical drama starring Timothy Spall. The final 25 years of JMW Turner's life are marked by great turbulence in equal parts social and personal - but as the world around him grows more chaotic, the artist's paintings grow ever bolder.
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Review
A star rating of 5 out of 5.
Leslie Felperin
Mike Leigh's beautifully drawn portrait of the British artist JMW Turner focuses largely on the later years of the painter's life, when he was already a fêted name with eccentric habits and a complicated private life. Deliberately fragmentary and sketchy, it's not the sort of tidy biopic that Hollywood churns out in batches, but that somehow makes it even truer to the spirit of the Romantic period when it takes place. Timothy Spall delivers a majestic performance, arguably his best in a rich career, capturing both Turner's quicksilver intelligence and energy but also his coarse manners - a lot of his dialogue consists of expressive grunts and growls, like a pig suffering a bad bout of dyspepsia. Although Leigh's deft handling of actors and humour is palpable throughout, there's none of the satirical sneering that sometimes mars his work. Some might even consider it his best film, and in some ways, despite its grounding in biography and history, his most personal.
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6.8/10
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Credits
Cast
rolenameJMW TurnerTimothy SpallWilliam TurnerPaul JessonHannah DanbyDorothy AtkinsonSophia BoothMarion BaileyMr BoothKarl Johnson (2)Sarah DanbyRuth SheenEvelinaSandy FosterGeorgianaAmy DawsonMary SomervilleLesley ManvilleBenjamin Robert HaydonMartin SavageGeorge JonesRichard BremnerJohn CarewNiall BuggyHenry William PickersgillRoger Ashton-GriffithsJohn RuskinJoshua McGuireSir Charles EastlakeRobert PortalSir Martin Archer SheeClive FrancisSir Augustus Wall CallcottSimon ChandlerJohn ConstableJames FleetLady EastlakeFenella WoolgarJoseph GillottPeter WightTheatre actorSam Kelly
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Crew
rolenameDirectorMike Leigh
Details
Theatrical distributor
Entertainment One
Released on
2014-10-31
Languages
English
Available on
DVD and Blu-ray
Formats
Colour
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