Mr. Turner

Last night I saw Mr. Turner, a luminous biography of the popular British landscape painter J.M.W. Turner.  Through a series of vignettes depicting the final years of his life, we see Turner's relationships with his father, his devoted housekeeper, his two lovers, one of whom is the mother of the two children he refuses to acknowledge, his aristocratic patrons, and the other members of the Royal Academy of Arts.  This film brilliantly explores the fine line between genius and madness in scenes where Turner ties himself to the mast of a ship in a snowstorm to observe its effects, paints a red splotch on one of his paintings when he hears another painting which prominently features the color red praised, visits a brothel to sketch one of the prostitutes, and runs from his deathbed into the street to sketch a girl who has drowned.  Another scene I particularly enjoyed was when the art critic John Ruskin (hilariously played by Joshua McGuire) analyzes one of Turner's paintings on and on at length prompting Turner to ask him his opinion of steak and kidney pie.  I laughed out loud at this because I just had a conversation with a friend who told me that sometimes a flower is just a flower.  Critics (and English teachers) have a tendency to read too much into art (and literature).  The cinematography in this film is as beautiful as one of Turner's paintings.  I especially loved the dazzling play of light throughout much of the film.  The character actor Timothy Spall, known primarily for portraying Peter Pettigrew in the Harry Potter movies, gives an incredibly nuanced performance as Turner.  The growl used to show his displeasure is most effective (it certainly elicited a lot of response from the audience during my particular screening) and the look on his face when he overhears Queen Victoria criticize one of his paintings is nothing short of heartbreaking.  Dorothy Atkinson also gives a wonderful performance as Turner's much abused housekeeper.  The scene when she learns of Turner's double life is devastating.  It is a moving film about a flawed and complicated man which I enjoyed very much.