MR TURNER

UK, 2014, 150 minutes, Colour.
Timothy Spall, Paul Jesson, Dorothy Atkinson, Marion Bailey, Karl Johnson, Ruth Sheen, Lesley Manville, Martin Savage, Niall Buggy, James Fleet.
Directed by Mike Leigh.


It is not only asked lovers who know something of the paintings by J.M.W.Turner, paintings which he bequeathed to the nation as his heritage. We may remember seascapes, the Fighting Temeraire. What do most of us know about the artist himself, Billy Turner, who flourished in the first part of the 19th century?

This is a portrait of Turner as an artist, a cinema sketch of him as a man, offering an experience of him at work, getting to know something of his character, not always genial.


Years ago, cinemagoers might have been surprised to find that Mike Leigh was directing this film. However, after his great success in 1989 in bringing Gilbert and Sullivan to live in Topsy- Turvy, we know that Turner is in good hands and that this will be an exemplary experience of Britain in the 19th century as well appreciating the skills which Mike Leigh uses in bringing characters to intense life, their interactions, their conflicts, their gifts, their foibles.


And those who know Mike Leigh’s work will appreciate the contribution of actor, Timothy Spall, to so many of them, especially Secrets and Lies, All or Nothing. Spall, who spent some years practising painting in preparation for his performance, won the Best Actor Award in Cannes 2014.


We first see Turner in Holland, walking along canals, finding scenes to paint. We realise at once that what Leigh is doing is providing scenery and locations which Turner painted but also getting his cinematographer to recreate the colours, the light and shade, the clarity and the mistiness which characterise Turner’s paintings. This continues throughout the film, especially with scenes on the English Channel coast around Margate, the sea, the storms, the sand, the beaches. At one stage Turner ties himself to the mast of a ship sailing through an icy storm to live the experience.


And there is Turner, a middle-aged, pudgy character, with very little charm, but with good manners and a beautiful 19th-century English vocabulary and turn of phrase – for instance, he mentions he has something to cogitate on. One of his specialties is his capacity to grunt and growl. This is very noticeable in a discussion on art with a pretentious John Ruskin.


On the personal level, he is something of a recluse. He has fathered two daughters by the aunt of his maid, spurns them on their visits. And, regarding the maid, he treats her as a very menial servant and is not above using her as sex relief. It is when he goes to Margate and encounters a couple, especially an old man who had been a ship slaver, then is attracted to the widowed wife who supports him in a de factor relationship for many years, looking after his needs, referring to his pretty little pictures, looking after him in his illnesses and, especially, at his death. In his relationship with her, we see Turner at his personal best.


On the professional level, there is an interesting sequence at the National Gallery when he brings his paintings, as do all the other artists, to see where they will be hung for exhibition, in the main hall, or in the outer. He is placed next to Constable whom he does not admire. There is a painter, Haydon, who is rejected and who depends on Turner for some financial support. Not everybody appreciated Turner’s work, two ladies at an exhibition mocking him with their comments – and a theatrical scene from a play where Turner and his style are being sent up, not to Turner’s pleasure.


The fine cast includes Paul Jeeson as Turner's father, a former barber who, in his retirement, buys the paints for his son, is loud in his praise and to whom his son is devoted, especially in a sad death scene. Dorothy Hutchison is his maid, Marion Bailey is the widow, Ruth Sheen is the mother of his daughters and Lesley Manville is a sympathetic visitor with an interest in science.


The film runs for 2 ½ hours so there is plenty of time for us to observe Leigh’s portrait, appreciate Spall’s performance, and realise what an artistic genius Turner was with paintings that blend the classic with the modern and still draw our attention and admiration.


1. The reputation of J.M.W. Turner? Audience knowledge of him, his paintings and his style? As a person?

2. The films of Mike Leigh, social dramas, his re-creation of the 19th century?

3. The visual impact of the film, the locations which look like Turner paintings, the framing, the colour, the seascapes? 19th century? The 1820s and 1830s, the time of the King, Victoria and Albert? The number of artists, their styles, exhibitions? Homes and studios? Mrs Booth’s house at Margate, Margate and the surroundings? The Holland waterways? London and the streets? A picture of the times? The songs of the times? The musical score?

4. The screenplay presupposing Turner’s past, the focus on his father (the memories of mother, sister), his wife and daughters, his wife’s complaints, his not going to his daughter’s funeral? The loner, the dependence on his maid, his life and style?

5. Billy and his father, his father a barber, going to the shop, buying the paints, his son, pride in his son, joy? The family visit and his reaction, especially to his granddaughters? The visit of Mrs Somerville? The sharing of joy, excitement? His collapse, his death, Billy with him?

6. The maid, her age, appearance, doing all the work, the surprise of the sexual encounter and her response? Her relationship with Billy’s father? Looking after the visitors, her ageing, the sores on her face, going to Mrs Booth’s house to seek Turner, not going in, the film’s last image of her alone in the house?

7. Mrs Somerville, science, the prism, the needles and magnetism, science and art and Turner’s interest?

8. The ships, the steamers, the trains, the scenes, inspiring Turner, his paintings? On the water and looking at the Temeraire and remembering his famous painting?

9. The artists, the President, Constable, Haydon, his picture of the donkey (and his later repaying Turner), Haydon and his intensity, his being ousted? The critiques of the paintings, whether they were placed in the main room or the anteroom, Turner and his putting the red dot on his painting, mocking Constable, making it a part of his painting? His interaction with his peers?

10. Turner, his appearance, age, his growl and the many uses of his growl?

11. Ruskin and his father, Ruskin’s affected talk, opinions, in the drawing room, the discussion about goosebeerries, Ruskin senior, his wife, the discussions about painting, the sea, Claude and interpretation of his work and technique? Ruskin buying Turner’s painting and hanging it in his house?

12. Margate, Mrs Booth, her husband and his being at sea, memory of the slave ships, his regrets? Going to chapel? His death? Turner saying he was Mr Mallard, his visits, the room, enjoyment, the bonds with the couple, with Mrs Booth, the later visits, the sexual relationship? His going on the ship, being tied to the mast, the storm and snow? His bronchitis, the doctor recognising him? Moving to Chelsea, with Mrs Booth as man and wife, the doctor coming, advising him of his death?

13. The scenery, the sea, Margate beach and Turner’s walks, the storms, the boats, the dead bodies, the clouds? His being tied to the mast? The final sketching of the dead girl?

14. Turner and his fame, recognition, the King and Queen Victoria and their reactions, his being recognised by his peers, the offer to buy all his paintings, refusal and his legacy for the British people?

15. The portrait of Turner, his appearance, gruff, the growl, yet always polite, his extensive 19th-century vocabulary and expressions, the distance from his family, his needs, sexual behaviour, ageing? The influence of his father, the treatment of his maid? His development over the years? Use of colour, the experts? The theatrical performance and the mockery of his painting, his disappointed reaction? The final exhibition, the ladies laughing at him, commenting on his style and painting? His looking at the Pre-Raphaelite? paintings and laughing at them?

16. His death, the doctor, Mrs Booth?

17. The film as a tribute to Turner?