Mr. Turner

Mr. Turner directed by Mike Leigh, starring Timothy Spall, Paul Jesson, and Dorothy Atkinson.

Mike Leigh is one of the better directors out there right now.  His movies span all sorts of topics as he never directs the same movie twice.  He is also not what one would call a typical commercial director.  His subjects and topics do not have mass appeal but for some reason he keeps getting financed for more movies - this is not a bad thing at all because his movies are always interesting and beautiful to watch.  Here he tackles the last decade or so of the life of the British painter Mr. Turner who was known for capturing the effects of sun light and light in his paintings.   

Mr. Turner is by far his most visually stunning movie to watch.  The movie itself is shot in a style that seems to mimic the paintings of Mr. Turner by doing this Leigh lets the viewer get inside the mind of Mr. Tuner as each frame of the film isn't just about the life of Mr. Turner but a window into his creative process.  It works remarkably well.  Timothy Spall is memorizing as Mr. Turner as the story doesn't shy away from a warts and all type of story telling as Turner walks the line of genius,  eccentric, and slightly insane all at the same time.  By doing this his character becomes completely fascinating.  Even though this movie spans a couple of decades I was never in a loss as to the time jumps or what was happening on screen, which means Leigh's ability of communication between director, viewer, and story line was being handled with effectiveness.  It was clear he had a good grasp on the story and characters.  He wasn't afraid to let his characters be who they are within the story. They never changed their personality on a situation.  They remained true to who they were.  There's not a lot movies, directors, or writers that aren't that confident in their story and characters to let them be who they are.  More people seem swayed by public opinion, Hollywood, and money to worry about stuff like that - gladly Mike Leigh is not one of those directors and it's one of the reasons his movies will continue to be fascinating and intriguing.

Here's to more Mike Leigh movies.