Mr. Turner

Year: 2014
Country: Great Britain
Director: Mike Leigh
Cast: Timothy Spall, Paul Jesson, Dorothy Atkinson
Genre: drama, history
Runtime: 150 min.
Age: 18+

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

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.

Awards & Festivals:

Cannes Film Festival — Best Actor, Volcano award
Britannia Award — John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Excellence in Directing