Mr. Turner (2014)

An exploration of the last quarter century of the great, if eccentric, British painter J.M.W. Turner's life.

Director:

Mike Leigh

Writer:

Mike Leigh

Stars:

Timothy Spall, Paul Jesson, Dorothy Atkinson

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 19 wins & 63 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Timothy Spall	...	JMW Turner
Paul Jesson	...	William Turner Snr
Dorothy Atkinson	...	Hannah Danby
Marion Bailey	...	Sophia Booth
Karl Johnson	...	Mr Booth
Ruth Sheen	...	Sarah Danby
Sandy Foster	...	Evelina
Amy Dawson	...	Georgiana
Lesley Manville	...	Mary Somerville
Martin Savage	...	Benjamin Robert Haydon
Richard Bremmer	...	George Jones
Niall Buggy	...	John Carew
Fred Pearson	...	Sir William Beechey
Tom Edden	...	CR Leslie
Jamie Thomas King	...	David Roberts

Storyline

Mr. Turner explores the last quarter century of the great if eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851). Profoundly affected by the death of his father, loved by a housekeeper he takes for granted and occasionally exploits sexually, he forms a close relationship with a seaside landlady with whom he eventually lives incognito in Chelsea, where he dies. Throughout this, he travels, paints, stays with the country aristocracy, visits brothels, is a popular if anarchic member of the Royal Academy of Arts, has himself strapped to the mast of a ship so that he can paint a snowstorm, and is both celebrated and reviled by the public and by royalty.

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Plot Keywords:

painting | scrofula | sketching | victorian era | sunrise | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Japan]

Country:

UK France Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 October 2014 (UK)

Also Known As:

Bay Turner

Filming Locations:

Wentworth Woodhouse, Wentworth, South Yorkshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£8,200,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$109,000, 19 December 2014, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$3,958,546

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$25,187,026

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amusement Park Films, British Film Institute (BFI), Canal+

Technical Specs

Runtime:

150 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The working replica of Robert Stephenson's 1830 Planet locomotive is from the Manchester Museum Of Science And Industry. It ran on an old railway track in North Wales, which, crucially, ran east-west. They wanted the sun setting behind the train - the conditions Turner had painted and had only one chance to get the shot right, because the train had to be returned the next day. That night there was a glowing sunset.

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Goofs

When Turner says "no good deed goes unpunished" he's a bit ahead of his time. The quote is attributed to Clare Boothe Luce with some unsupported claims it might have first been said by 3 others, who all would have been quite young or unborn at the time of Turner's death.

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Quotes

J.M.W. Turner: Mr. Ruskin, can I pose you a somewhat "conundruous" question?
John Ruskin: Please do, Mr. Turner.
J.M.W. Turner: To which do you find yourself the more partial: a steak and kidney pie or veal and ham pie?
[crowd laughs]

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Connections

Referenced in The Graham Norton Show: Benedict Cumberbatch/Miranda Hart/Timothy Spall/Maroon 5 (2014)

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Soundtracks

Piano Sonata N°8 in c minor, op. 13
, commonly known as "Sonata Pathétique"
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
(1798-1799)

User Reviews

A Diamond in the Rough

Although previous movies about artists haven't set the bar very high, 'Mr Turner' is one of the most authentic films about an individual following this occupation. JMW Turner was born and raised the son of a London barber, and although he became the house-guest of aristocrats, he never adopted the persona of a cosmopolitan sophisticate. Director Mike Leigh makes no attempt to string together a conventional biography of Britain's greatest landscape painter - his fragmented account simply observes a variety of the artist's interactions with his beloved father, wealthy patrons, colleagues, critics and mistresses during his later years.

The film follows his restless workaholic progress from studio to exhibition opening, from brothel to stately home, and on to rented rooms in cheap lodging houses bordering the landscapes which he loved to paint. The painter's early work was relatively conventional as he mimicked the styles of some illustrious predecessors. During the latter part of his life - financially secure and with his reputation established - he embarked on a series of ambitious paintings which anticipated the styles of artists who arrived on the scene several decades afterward. Turner's coarse manners and social awkwardness were infamous, but they are probably exaggerated for dramatic effect in this portrayal. However that's a minor gripe - at the center of the film is Timothy Spall's fine portrayal of an eccentric virtuoso going about the business of being an artist.