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"Who in the world is Joseph Mallord William Turner? An artist you say? Well why not just make a film about Pablo Picasso or Leonardo De Vinci?"
The point is in fact, that the British Mr. Turner was an exceptional and gifted artist, who unfortunately took an unnecessary stream of negativity and despair upon himself, in connection to his controversial and unconventional methods and works. Since then, he has achieved the noble respect of which he deserves, especially as a historical milestone in the form of "the painter who elevated the art of reproducing landscapes".
Director Mike Leigh has in relation to this pictured his own dedication needed for a project of this relatively large calibre; a truly unique chance to study and examine the artist Mr. Turner as the mortal and flawed human being that he was, whom in contrast, was also able to create epic and spiritual works of art that seamlessly distilled the world that we live in.
The Story
The film is about the British painter J.M.W. Turner (Timothy Spall) and the last 25 years of his life as the villain and hero, respectively, of the great but uneven “heavenly space” of the world of art and expression. We follow Mr. Turner through brush strokes and brush strikes, all the while he travels through his motherland's most beautiful and inspiring areas – trips, that not only stimulates his artistic side but also his humanistic. His heart definitely beats for art, but along the way Mr. Turner stumbles upon other qualities, which likewise speaks to the ardent artist's heart. But if it so happens that the stubborn artist stumbles upon the true love of his life, it is far more important to him, if the British people ever truthfully express the love they have for him. But is Mr. Turner indeed a fantastic artist or an artistic fraud?
With 'Mr. Turner’ Mike Leigh leads his audience deep into the portrait of a misunderstood and controversial artist who must fight persistently to attain recognition for his qualities as a painter and as a person. But it is far from an easy goal to accomplish, for behind the artist’s distinguishable dull mannerisms and short-of-word responses lies a great deal of well-hidden feelings, which crave deeply for the proper guidance. Occasionally we get to see these darker sides, which results in a constant character development that never fails to take surprising and interesting twists and turns throughout. For although the shapes and shades in the foreground of a painting are definitely a joy to behold, it is more about the hidden personal and defective characteristics further beyond, which boosts the painting up to a considerable higher level – and that is exactly the case with this focus of this film.
This film is very much an imperfect cutwork of the man behind the brush, carefully placed in the 1800s British beauties of the landscapes. The story of the film is not constructed by using the classic storytelling templates, with carefully selected and shortened periodic clips from the largest and most important highlights of Mr. Turner's life. Instead, the audience will feel a more natural and slightly unsystematic approach to the story, of which the essence of the biographical narrative casts its focus on capturing the atmospheric force of which said periodic life images have the ability to deliver. It doesn’t always work, but it creates an interesting focus for the film in which Mr. Turner dominates and therefore controls the core of this very story. The narrative is maintained further by the dialogic period-mix of the film, consisting of old expressions and new initiatives, and together it provides a playful and nuanced balance to 'Mr. Turner ' as a whole.
Honestly, it is not really important to find out if he ever wins the British people over, or if the film ever takes a tragic dramatic turnaround to create fast-and-forced compassion. We follow Mr. Turner, as the man he just happened to be, and along the way we create our very own thoughts and ideas. Will he ever sort out all of his family problems, will the endless evolution of art ever pass him by, and is he truly an astoundingly pathetic or graceful person? The only answer to this is to fall comfortably down in the cinema seats so you can experience and reflect on Mr. Turner as a person, as a painter, and as a product of cinema.
The Acting
If I by any chance left you behind in a slightly brooding condition in the previous paragraph, in connection to the fact that the story of the film actually works reasonably well, without neither being linear or straightforward in its approach, then the following statement is one of the main reasons why. 'Mr. Turner’ is first and foremost a magnificent actors assembly, not necessarily consisting of the highest ranked names of the so-called ‘A-list’, but rather performances of which could definitely be looked upon as worthy of that category. Everybody provide the film with the very best they have learned, no matter if that means acting out performances of comprehensive or understated fundamentals and gesticulations; and it is really hard to point a crooked finger towards the "sinner" of this film, as there honestly isn’t one.
First off, let's get the following out the way; Timothy Spall’s sophisticated “tour de force” of a masterful performance, playing the role of Mr. Turner, is a career-high landmark for the actor. A man full of insufficient words and suppressed emotions, where even a little rumbling and mumbling can accommodate the same expanded diversity as a thesaurus. Spall assigns his character with a sincerely unique angle of which is neither square, rectangular, or in any shape or form within the semi-traditional outer edges of acting. It’s the highly sought-after “golden section” of acting, where the limited amount of space between over- and underplaying a character creates the perfect workstation for an actor of this capability. Timothy Spall was born to play the role of Mr. Turner.
Although the focus point lies in the hands of the title character, all of the surrounding performances are, to say the least, just as important and works just as well. Marion Bailey as Mrs. Booth serves as a wonderful companion throughout the film, especially because of the fact that she simply oozes with life and a heart-warming personality, no matter if the world treats her well or poor. Joshua McGuire gives a surprisingly controlled performance, in which a character of unbearable and slimy modality, can be safely placed in the category "charming and annoying" – a category involving two words rarely present in the same sentence but all the same still unite effortlessly under the impressive supervision and control of McGuire.
The Technical Aspect
'Mr. Turner' feels exactly like a living painting from start to finish. A visual wonder, in which the modern digitization of film puts its focus on a more classical narrative and comes out the other side as a pure success. Director and cinematographer have mutually decided, that the benefits of digital film production possess the needed capacities of grasping the life and colours of the film, and practically lift them off of the silver screen. Every scene is like a painting, in a quite literal sense, in which the director utilizes windows and doorways throughout ‘Mr. Turner’, to give the audience the feeling of looking directly through framed works of art – and it works tremendously!
A picture is worth a thousand words; this film is shot at 24 frames per second; and consists of a duration of approximately 150 minutes – in that case, we are left with more than 9,000 individual illustrations, fluently strung together, which in the end has created this year's perhaps most beautiful film. So if the film itself isn’t your preferred cup of tea, then you can always lean back in the comfortable seats and experience the immersive and stunning colourful images by themselves – they are truly worth it.
The Soundscape
The soundtrack doesn’t come off as lively and broad as the visuals, but in turn it is the simplicity that triumphs this time around. The talented composer of the film, Gary Yershon, has taken a step towards much bolder decisions with the musical tones of ‘Mr. Turner’, and has purposefully chosen not to march toward neither the happy nor tragic. Instead, he has played around with the idea of a simpler soundtrack, used to set the atmospheric and moody undertones that have the ability to illustrate all of the many tonal shifts in the film. The music is almost like a pending tone of mystery, which alludes to both the peaceful as well as the prodigal. Personally I was still missing some kind of variation, but one must nevertheless bow down to the courageous and successful execution, of something that might as well have been a thick and noticeable brushstroke too much…
SHORT SUMMARY Mike Leigh has drawn a rough portrait of a true and truly misunderstood artist; and with the "roughness" follows great pleasures, but the structure and length is arguably not one of them. Had the story been a tad more focused and the duration around half an hour shorter, we would still have gotten beautiful images, great performances, and a satisfying and respectful film about J.M.W. Turner. That said you should not miss out on the experience, as this marvellous work of art in itself is only just one gob of spit away from being perfect.
overall rating: +
Movie Review: Mr. Turner (2014)
"Who in the world is Joseph Mallord William Turner? An artist you say? Well why not just make a film about Pablo Picasso or Leonardo De Vinci?"
The point is in fact, that the British Mr. Turner was an exceptional and gifted artist, who unfortunately took an unnecessary stream of negativity and despair upon himself, in connection to his controversial and unconventional methods and works. Since then, he has achieved the noble respect of which he deserves, especially as a historical milestone in the form of "the painter who elevated the art of reproducing landscapes".
Director Mike Leigh has in relation to this pictured his own dedication needed for a project of this relatively large calibre; a truly unique chance to study and examine the artist Mr. Turner as the mortal and flawed human being that he was, whom in contrast, was also able to create epic and spiritual works of art that seamlessly distilled the world that we live in.
The Story
The film is about the British painter J.M.W. Turner (Timothy Spall) and the last 25 years of his life as the villain and hero, respectively, of the great but uneven “heavenly space” of the world of art and expression. We follow Mr. Turner through brush strokes and brush strikes, all the while he travels through his motherland's most beautiful and inspiring areas – trips, that not only stimulates his artistic side but also his humanistic. His heart definitely beats for art, but along the way Mr. Turner stumbles upon other qualities, which likewise speaks to the ardent artist's heart. But if it so happens that the stubborn artist stumbles upon the true love of his life, it is far more important to him, if the British people ever truthfully express the love they have for him. But is Mr. Turner indeed a fantastic artist or an artistic fraud?
With 'Mr. Turner’ Mike Leigh leads his audience deep into the portrait of a misunderstood and controversial artist who must fight persistently to attain recognition for his qualities as a painter and as a person. But it is far from an easy goal to accomplish, for behind the artist’s distinguishable dull mannerisms and short-of-word responses lies a great deal of well-hidden feelings, which crave deeply for the proper guidance. Occasionally we get to see these darker sides, which results in a constant character development that never fails to take surprising and interesting twists and turns throughout. For although the shapes and shades in the foreground of a painting are definitely a joy to behold, it is more about the hidden personal and defective characteristics further beyond, which boosts the painting up to a considerable higher level – and that is exactly the case with this focus of this film.
This film is very much an imperfect cutwork of the man behind the brush, carefully placed in the 1800s British beauties of the landscapes. The story of the film is not constructed by using the classic storytelling templates, with carefully selected and shortened periodic clips from the largest and most important highlights of Mr. Turner's life. Instead, the audience will feel a more natural and slightly unsystematic approach to the story, of which the essence of the biographical narrative casts its focus on capturing the atmospheric force of which said periodic life images have the ability to deliver. It doesn’t always work, but it creates an interesting focus for the film in which Mr. Turner dominates and therefore controls the core of this very story. The narrative is maintained further by the dialogic period-mix of the film, consisting of old expressions and new initiatives, and together it provides a playful and nuanced balance to 'Mr. Turner ' as a whole.
Honestly, it is not really important to find out if he ever wins the British people over, or if the film ever takes a tragic dramatic turnaround to create fast-and-forced compassion. We follow Mr. Turner, as the man he just happened to be, and along the way we create our very own thoughts and ideas. Will he ever sort out all of his family problems, will the endless evolution of art ever pass him by, and is he truly an astoundingly pathetic or graceful person? The only answer to this is to fall comfortably down in the cinema seats so you can experience and reflect on Mr. Turner as a person, as a painter, and as a product of cinema.
The Acting
If I by any chance left you behind in a slightly brooding condition in the previous paragraph, in connection to the fact that the story of the film actually works reasonably well, without neither being linear or straightforward in its approach, then the following statement is one of the main reasons why. 'Mr. Turner’ is first and foremost a magnificent actors assembly, not necessarily consisting of the highest ranked names of the so-called ‘A-list’, but rather performances of which could definitely be looked upon as worthy of that category. Everybody provide the film with the very best they have learned, no matter if that means acting out performances of comprehensive or understated fundamentals and gesticulations; and it is really hard to point a crooked finger towards the "sinner" of this film, as there honestly isn’t one.
First off, let's get the following out the way; Timothy Spall’s sophisticated “tour de force” of a masterful performance, playing the role of Mr. Turner, is a career-high landmark for the actor. A man full of insufficient words and suppressed emotions, where even a little rumbling and mumbling can accommodate the same expanded diversity as a thesaurus. Spall assigns his character with a sincerely unique angle of which is neither square, rectangular, or in any shape or form within the semi-traditional outer edges of acting. It’s the highly sought-after “golden section” of acting, where the limited amount of space between over- and underplaying a character creates the perfect workstation for an actor of this capability. Timothy Spall was born to play the role of Mr. Turner.
Although the focus point lies in the hands of the title character, all of the surrounding performances are, to say the least, just as important and works just as well. Marion Bailey as Mrs. Booth serves as a wonderful companion throughout the film, especially because of the fact that she simply oozes with life and a heart-warming personality, no matter if the world treats her well or poor. Joshua McGuire gives a surprisingly controlled performance, in which a character of unbearable and slimy modality, can be safely placed in the category "charming and annoying" – a category involving two words rarely present in the same sentence but all the same still unite effortlessly under the impressive supervision and control of McGuire.
The Technical Aspect
'Mr. Turner' feels exactly like a living painting from start to finish. A visual wonder, in which the modern digitization of film puts its focus on a more classical narrative and comes out the other side as a pure success. Director and cinematographer have mutually decided, that the benefits of digital film production possess the needed capacities of grasping the life and colours of the film, and practically lift them off of the silver screen. Every scene is like a painting, in a quite literal sense, in which the director utilizes windows and doorways throughout ‘Mr. Turner’, to give the audience the feeling of looking directly through framed works of art – and it works tremendously!
A picture is worth a thousand words; this film is shot at 24 frames per second; and consists of a duration of approximately 150 minutes – in that case, we are left with more than 9,000 individual illustrations, fluently strung together, which in the end has created this year's perhaps most beautiful film. So if the film itself isn’t your preferred cup of tea, then you can always lean back in the comfortable seats and experience the immersive and stunning colourful images by themselves – they are truly worth it.
The Soundscape
The soundtrack doesn’t come off as lively and broad as the visuals, but in turn it is the simplicity that triumphs this time around. The talented composer of the film, Gary Yershon, has taken a step towards much bolder decisions with the musical tones of ‘Mr. Turner’, and has purposefully chosen not to march toward neither the happy nor tragic. Instead, he has played around with the idea of a simpler soundtrack, used to set the atmospheric and moody undertones that have the ability to illustrate all of the many tonal shifts in the film. The music is almost like a pending tone of mystery, which alludes to both the peaceful as well as the prodigal. Personally I was still missing some kind of variation, but one must nevertheless bow down to the courageous and successful execution, of something that might as well have been a thick and noticeable brushstroke too much…
SHORT SUMMARY Mike Leigh has drawn a rough portrait of a true and truly misunderstood artist; and with the "roughness" follows great pleasures, but the structure and length is arguably not one of them. Had the story been a tad more focused and the duration around half an hour shorter, we would still have gotten beautiful images, great performances, and a satisfying and respectful film about J.M.W. Turner. That said you should not miss out on the experience, as this marvellous work of art in itself is only just one gob of spit away from being perfect.
overall rating: +