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Mr. Turner

Play trailer Poster for Mr. Turner R 2014 2h 29m Biography History Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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96% Tomatometer 189 Reviews 56% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner (Timothy Spall) lives his last 25 years with gusto and secretly becomes involved with a seaside landlady, while his faithful housekeeper (Paul Jesson) bears an unrequited love for him.
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Mr. Turner

Mr. Turner

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Critics Consensus

Led by a masterful performance from Timothy Spall and brilliantly directed by Mike Leigh, Mr. Turner is a superior Hollywood biopic.

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Critics Reviews

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Rafer Guzman Newsday Mike Leigh's biopic is so richly detailed that it feels like a documentary. Spall goes for broke in the outsize title role. Rated: 4/4 Feb 6, 2015 Full Review Marjorie Baumgarten Austin Chronicle There is little in the way of narrative eventfulness in the film, but Leigh luxuriates in the moments, and provides glimpses of what it takes to be an artist amid the fray. Rated: 4/5 Feb 2, 2015 Full Review Moira MacDonald Seattle Times You leave "Mr. Turner," as with all good fact-based films, wanting to know more about this man and his work - and remembering that beautiful, almost touchable light, on the canvas and on the screen. Rated: 3.5/4 Jan 22, 2015 Full Review Don Shanahan Every Movie Has a Lesson As beautifully presented as "Mr. Turner" is at telling the story of English Romanticist painter J.M.W. Turner, too much of it is uninteresting, familiar in tone, and predictable in execution. Rated: 2/5 Jul 20, 2025 Full Review Ross McIndoe The Skinny Spall's Turner grunts his way through whole conversations before bursting into sprawling surges of grandiloquence and wit. He is equally entertaining in both modes. Rated: 4/5 Jul 4, 2024 Full Review Diego Batlle Otroscines.com Mr. Turner results in an experience that it's at times fascinating and almost always enjoyable. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 3.5/5 Apr 26, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Tom M Spall plays Turner as a grunting pig...occasionally a rutting pig. But Turner is also a painter of extraordinary genius. This is a depiction of his ordinary life which is quite odd in its own way. A mystery he remains. At turns coarse, vulgar and dismissive, he is also loving ,expressive and altruistic. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/08/25 Full Review Simon B Visually arresting, beautifully lit and shot. Every frame a masterpiece. But, with little to no dialogue and Timothy Spall snuffling his way through like an anthropomorphic hedgehog as if from a tales of the riverbank story this was a massively missed opportunity. Little to nothing is discovered about the artist in this highly mannered and prententious piece of prettiness! What dialogue there was seemed to be based around the personal and imagined fantasies of the director and his off the rails actors. The portrayal of John Ruskin as a cretin was innaccurate and insulting. What a waste! It could have been so good. Only the pseuds who care nothing for the great man, his work or history will have enjoyed this. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 07/03/24 Full Review Graham M Don't miss this film! It's what movies are all about. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/01/24 Full Review Red R Phenomenal Masterpiece. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/24/24 Full Review NR D Beautiful movie. The set and costume for the period seemed near perfect. Acting was superb. Without doubt the camera work was extraordinary. Dorothy Atkinson's performance as the housekeeper was Oscar nomination worthy and leaves a long memory of her work on this film. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/10/24 Full Review Alec B Where most biopics exaggerate certain events and revel in anachronism in order to be inspiring, Mike Leigh's "Mr. Turner" takes the completely opposite approach. He examines J.M.W. Turner from middle age to death through a series of scenes that mostly showcase the man's prickly and contradictory nature. There isn't even much shown of Turner's creative process, instead any scenes about his paintings tends to focus on the public's perceptions of them. Its an interesting choice, and one that shouldn't surprise anyone given how Leigh works. Also, I'd be remiss not to mention Spall's brilliant performance, finding humanity in such a unpleasant genius was no easy task. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 12/13/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Mr. Turner

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Cast & Crew

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Mike Leigh

Director

Timothy Spall

J.M.W. Turner

Paul Jesson

William Turner

Dorothy Atkinson

Hannah Danby

Marion Bailey

Sophia Booth

Karl Johnson

Mr. Booth

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Mr. Turner

Timothy Spall as J.M.W. Turner in "Mr. Turner." (L-R) Timothy Spall as J.M.W. Turner, Clive Francis as Sir Martin Archer Shee and Simon Chandler as Sir Augustus Wall Callcott in "Mr. Turner." Timothy Spall as J.M.W. Turner and Eleanor Yates as Effie Ruskin in "Mr. Turner." (L-R) Ruth Sheen as Sarah Danby, Paul Jesson as William Turner, Dorothy Atkinson as Hannah Danby, Amy Dawson as Georgiana and Sandy Foster as Evelina in "Mr. Turner." Timothy Spall as J.M.W. Turner in "Mr. Turner." Timothy Spall as J.M.W. Turner in "Mr. Turner." Timothy Spall as J.M.W. Turner in "Mr. Turner." Timothy Spall as J.M.W. Turner in "Mr. Turner." Timothy Spall as J.M.W. Turner in "Mr. Turner." Marion Bailey as Sophia Booth and Timothy Spall as J.M.W. Turner in "Mr. Turner." View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner (Timothy Spall) lives his last 25 years with gusto and secretly becomes involved with a seaside landlady, while his faithful housekeeper (Paul Jesson) bears an unrequited love for him.
Director
Mike Leigh
Producer
Georgina Lowe
Screenwriter
Mike Leigh
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co
Xofa Productions, Lipsync Productions, Diaphana Films, France 3 Cinéma, Thin Man Films, Amusement Park Films
Rating
R (Some Sexual Content)
Genre
Biography, History, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 19, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 8, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$4.2M
Runtime
2h 29m
Sound Mix
Dolby Digital
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