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Mr Turner review by Rashid Irani: Don't miss this masterful biopic
Embracing the complexities and controversies which coursed through his career, Mr. Turner is a paean to an indomitable artistic genius. Don’t miss it.
Mr Turner
Direction: Mike Leigh
Actors: Timothy Spall, Dorothy Atkinson
Rating: 5/5
A titan of contemporary British cinema, the films of Mike Leigh have rarely been released at our multiplexes. Chance to repair.
This period biopic on the eponymous 19th century English landscape painter, who mostly growls and grunts while conversing, fully fleshes out the final two decades of JMW Turner’s life.
The ‘painter of light’ is depicted as a curmudgeon capable of great cruelty one minute and great tenderness the next.
Portrayed to perfection by Timothy Spall, Turner devotes all his energies to his art, often sailing to the coastal town where he derived inspiration for his spectacular seascapes.
The ensemble feast also serves up another delectable Leigh veteran, Lesley Manville, as the Scottish scientist investigating the properties of light and colour.
Embracing the complexities and controversies which coursed through his career, Mr. Turner is a paean to an indomitable artistic genius. Don’t miss it.
