Review #1,123 - Mr. Turner (2014)
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Review #1,123 |
THE SCOOP
Director: Mike Leigh
Cast: Timothy Spall, Paul Jesson, Dorothy Atkinson, Marion Bailey
Plot: An exploration of the last quarter century of the great, if eccentric, British painter J.M.W. Turner's life.
Genre: Biography / Drama / History
Awards: Won Best Actor (Cannes). Nom. for 4 Oscars - Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Original Score.
Runtime: 150min
Rating: M18 for some sexual content.
IN RETROSPECT (Spoilers: NO)
Coming
high from a Best Actor win at Cannes, actor Timothy Spall shows his acting
credentials in a superb performance as J.M.W. Turner, the 19th century British
painter whose remarkable works remained oblivious to the mainstream, but whose
life story should hopefully reach the consciousness of the more sophisticated
movie-going crowd.
Spall
doesn't seem to have the traction and critical support to put him firmly in the
Oscar race, but let's hope he earns a well-deserved nomination. He is backed by supporting characters whose
importance cannot be underestimated, particularly Hannah (Dorothy Atkinson) and
Sophia (Marion Bailey), who play key roles in Turner’s life.
If
Mr. Turner has set out to be an
insightful biographical account of the subject's later years, it does a pretty
decent job lighting up the path. Written
and directed by Mike Leigh, a filmmaker whom many have come to respect over the
last two decades with works like Secrets & Lies
(1996), Vera Drake (2004)
and Another Year (2010), the film is
decidedly elegiac in its treatment, with rare moments of off-beat humour.
Running
at about 150 minutes, this rather lengthy biopic is dialogue-heavy, with
bountiful ruminations on art and life.
Spall’s performance breathes life into his character, who is fairly
eccentric and remarkably stubborn. The
film begins with his silhouette against the red morning sky, drawing on his
beloved notepad. That seems to be the
representative image that Leigh wants us to remember Turner by.
His
paintings are well preserved, and tremendously beautiful to see on the big
screen, either in Turner’s private showroom, or exhibited at the grand Royal
Academy’s exhibition, both recreated by Leigh in intricate detail. As one of the more higher profile period
pieces, Mr. Turner should
score several Oscar nominations in art direction and costume design. Dick Pope’s breathtaking painterly
cinematography is also something to behold.
One
of the most pleasant discoveries for me is the strange, haunting music by Gary
Yershon, which may seem out of place at first, but slowly grows on you, evoking
that elegiac and solemn tone that Leigh very much captured from the very
beginning.
Verdict: A quite solid biopic on the great British
painter that is composed yet elegiac, with breathtaking painterly
cinematography.
GRADE: B+ (8/10 or 3.5 stars)
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