Mr. Turner is partly true to form Leigh (plotless, rich characterizations) and partly paving new ground (some of the visuals here put David Lean to shame)
some of the visuals here put David Lean to shame
4 nominations for Mr. Turner – Cinematography, production design, costume and music—all absolutely deserving—artistically transcendent—Timothy Spall in the lead (this is more of a one-man show than any other Leigh film) won the best actor at Cannes
150 minutes—Saul Bass-like inspired titles
The gauntlet is thrown down early by Leigh and his cinematographer Dick Pope—the film starts on a windmill landscape. It may be as beautiful as cinema gets. Then the camera rolls into another stunner of Spall (as Turner) sketching in the tall grass
The gauntlet is thrown down early by Leigh and his cinematographer Dick Pope—the film starts on a windmill landscape
The exteriors are breathtaking (I had to cut myself off from pictures for the page here there were so many)
The exteriors are breathtaking (I had to cut myself off from pictures for the page here there were so many) but the Ozu-like open doorway shots in these immaculately crafted interiors around his house with his maid Hannah Danby (Dorothy Atkinson) are nearly as fine—near the end Turner collapses in the open door and it’s framed that way and the final image of the maid, alone, framed within the open doors—it mirrors the final shot of the family mounted by the door in Vera Drake
It is a biopic and about the creation of art so it is a fitting companion piece with 1999’s Topsy- Turvy – the detail of the process—nothing really happens. This is Leigh’s 8 ½
Spall’s accomplishment can’t be overstated either. He’s making choices, spitting and grunting, the penguin-like scowl and hobble. He is a fascinating character, contradictory—he’s terrible to his child and ex-wife, he denies his daughter to a colleague— but he’s great with his father and others.
A fine scene is the shot of Martin Savage (as Haydon) walking into the distance with a group of men gathered to talk about him—all in one long take
A fine scene is the shot of Martin Savage (as Haydon) walking into the distance with a group of men gathered to talk about him—all in one long take
Over the course of the film (roughly 1825-1850 I think) his house and his maid visually deteriorate
The Turner-esque golden light isn’t just in the exteriors- it’s pouring in from the windows.
The Turner-esque golden light isn’t just in the exteriors- it’s pouring in from the windows
there are 30-50 of these –wall in a museum beauty
The exquisiteness of the frames—such detail and curation. A gorgeous one fishing in the pond—you have to bring up Barry Lyndon—just museum piece after museum piece beauty in the frames—achingly authentic and curated
look at the blocking and staggering characters here
The exquisiteness of the frames—such detail and curation. A gorgeous one fishing in the pond—you have to bring up Barry Lyndon
A 94 on metacritic with a funny 50 from Rex Reed
As Turner dies we go to him in silhouette with the golden sun
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