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.
Filmmaker Mike Leigh’s biography of the landscape painter J.M.W. Turner is what critics call “austere”—which means it’s slow and grim and deliberately hard to love—yet it’s fascinating, and the performances and photography are outstanding. To watch it is to feel as though you’re a part of its world, talking shop with the painters, experiencing tiny fluctuations in received wisdom and sudden changes of artistic direction that can only be sensed by professionals who are plugged into their art form, and completely in command of their talents. That the performances are excellent will come as no surprise to Leigh fans. – Matt Zoller Seitz for Roger Ebert
Starring Timothy Spall, Paul Jesson, Dorothy Atkinson.
Note: The film is set in approximately 1826 – 1851, spanning the [Georgian](http://www.willowandthatch.com/period-films-to-watch/period-dramas-georgian-regency-eras/) and the [Victorian](http://www.willowandthatch.com/period-films-to-watch/period-dramas-victorian-era/) eras.