It’s not easy to grasp the connection between the brain of the artist, his eye and what you see on the canvas. What Mike Leigh’s latest film attempts to do, rather successfully, is to bridge that bond between the brain of the artist and the eye of the beholder through examining the life and works of one of Britain’s finest artists, Joseph Mallord William Turner.

Leigh follows his established method of rehearsed improvisation around a narrative framework, and the film calls on quite a number of actors from his formidable ensemble. At the centre is Timothy Spall, Leigh’s chosen Turner, who spent many hours with a paintbrush in hand in meticulous preparation for the role. In other films Spall is often the comic relief or part of the Greek chorus on the sidelines, but here he’s in nearly every scene, and his Turner is shamelessly fascinating (which he needs to be, for the film’s hefty two and a half hour running time). As portrayed here, Turner is no more and no less than an ordinary man with exceptional talents; but is all the more remarkable for it. Spall’s creation spits, grunts and groans his way through the upper echelons of society to which his talent has granted him privileged access; but the performance wisely steers well clear of caricature, readily embracing both Turner’s flaws and foibles and brilliantly capturing his outpourings of natural genius.

…a guttural snarl, much like a painting, can convey a thousand words…

Mike Leigh’s films often rely heavily on structure, deftly weaving together numerous plot strands. But despite the long duration of MR TURNER the film is more episodic, examining in detail Turner’s creative process, his high society life and his regular anonymous trips to Margate to seek creative inspiration. Leigh’s thesis seems to be that Turner the artist is defined by his relationship with his surroundings, and Turner the man by his relationships with his women; or in some cases, the lack thereof. It seems that a guttural snarl, much like a painting, can convey a thousand words, and Spall’s primal growling and swift room departure whenever confronted with his first mistress (Ruth Sheen) and their children tell you all you need to know. He can be perfectly mannered, as with the Margate landlady (Marion Bailey) who he grows ever closer to on his frequent visits, but equally his frustrated encounter in a house of ill repute speaks volumes with the merest of dialogue. Turner’s most normal, articulate relationship is with his father (Paul Jesson), but it also inevitably leaves a mark on Turner in very visible ways. As well as its concerns with the past, MR TURNER also looks to the future, the passing of eras and Turner’s own recognition that his medium could soon be usurped by upstarts such as the coming of photography.

MR TURNER wears its heart on its sleeve and lets out its soul through Turner’s animalistic grunting. But it’s through its vision that it truly soars. Leigh composes images and scenes which evoke some of Turner’s famous paintings, and in turn become some of the most striking images of Leigh’s long career; so often previously tethered to the metaphorical kitchen sink. Turner’s style, which might have influenced the Impressionists, is best seen in Leigh’s approach to characterisation, but he lets the views of Turner’s masterpieces speak for themselves with simple, subtle camerawork. In contrasting Turner’s personal life with backdrops that inspired Turner’s most famous paintings, such as The Fighting Temeraire, the film truly captures the sense of the artist as seen and felt within the paintings themselves. Leigh’s regular cinematographer Dick Pope does great work in grasping the sense of these images without the need to slavishly imitate Turner’s style in his crisp cinematography, but it’s through Turner’s life and Spall’s magnificent performance that we come to understand the inner workings of a great artist’s mind.

This review originally appeared at the excellent film blog The Movie Evangelist.

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