Mr. Turner [Blu-ray]

Someone criticized this film for its "lack of conflict." Not enough action, some others said. Boring! This movie is none of these. The conflict is subtle and not marked by histrionics or dire acts. There is plenty of action, just not of the physical sort that we see too often. Mr. Turner is a superb film for anyone who is interested in art and a marvelous revelation to anyone who, like me, has revered Turner's works for years. The fact that Turner was often boorish and crass in his dealings with others simply points out that his art was his life and anything else was simply a distraction. Like Beethoven, his contemporary, Turner was a genius and a monomaniac whose pursuit of his art ruled his life. In a very meaningful moment in the movie, Turner hears a Beethoven sonata played on the piano and recognizes the music as coming from a romantic much as himself. Indeed, Turner and Beethoven introduced the world to Romanticism through their departing from the establishment and going their own ways. This film is well-acted and a masterpiece of cinematography. So beautiful in fact, that I already want to watch it again and it was just yesterday that I saw it for the first time. As someone else remarked the acting of Dorothy Atkinson as Hannah, Turner's housekeeper is amazing.

This movie was awful. I love art and I love art history and I was excited to learn more about Turner with this movie. Turner was a child prodigy and had a long career and was a good looking guy to boot. Seriously, look up his self-portrait. This movie missed a huge opportunity to cover so much more of his life. But no, the movie features a creepy, bumbling, middle-aged man in a plot that seems to be going nowhere. I literally fast forwarded through the last half of the movie and was sad to discover that the end was just as uneventful and emotionless as the rest of the movie. I can only be thankful that I rented this and did not go to see it in theaters. I probably would have walked out.

"Mr. Turner" is an awful film. I have no idea how much of it was accurate, but they portrayed the artist as a disgusting, curmudgeonly, porcine man, the majority of whose verbalizations are phlegmy, hoggish grunts. So. Much. Phlegm. The rest of the dialog is barely understandable. The scene where he assaults his housekeeper is beyond foul - extraordinarily gross, and without reason (why does there have to be a sexual assault in nearly every single film?). We know these things happened, and the filmmaker can show us it happened (historically, how do we know, though?) without this. And the film itself lacks direction - it meanders along the final 20-25 years of his life without much purpose. I understand that one can be a master and also a horrible person, but ugh. I will not get that 2.5 hours and $3 back. For the record, I am a fine artist with a BFA and have studied a lot of art history and Turner is a major influence.

William Turner was an amazing painter, and an amazing character. A key figure in the Romantic movement, his life expressed the Romantic ideal of "emotional extremes". This film was the antithesis of "emotional extremes." It was so boring that, afterward, my wife asked me why I watched the whole thing. I just couldn't believe the filmmakers could miss the target so completely. They did, however, manage to miss completelyThe acting was solid, EXCEPT, for Timothy Spall. Casting Mr. Spall could be seen as courageous, given Spalls extant career as a character actor, playing ugly, small creatures. The known portraits of Turner, with the exception of the one known photo of him, as an old man, show him to be a reasonably handsome man. Not so the grotesque Mr. Spall who plays Turner as a grotesque, character, with ZERO redeeming virtues.HisThe one story about Turner I was hoping to see was, indeed, in the film. The scene cuts to Turner being tied to a mast on a ship of some sort. He is battered by a few waves, and the film cuts to another scene. That's it. No context, no explanation at all.So bad. Use these two hours of your life on a more valuable experience.

I love period pieces and learning about artists' lives so I expected to really like this movie, but it was absolutely horrible. Slow (and not in a thoughtful, introspective sense), depressing, irritating, and uninformative. I didn't gain any insight into the artist's motivations or emotions that inspired his art. I came away revolted by Turner and that anyone associated with him. I hope he was less repulsive in real life. Don't waste 15 hours, disguised as 2 & 1/2, on this nightmare.

I hardly ever write reviews, however I was compelled to warn people against wasting any money on this utterly dreadful film. I don’t know if it was true to history, but Turner was represented as a disgusting, wretched man with no redeeming qualities. He grunts constantly (quite annoying), there was no character development, and it thoroughly depressed me. Additionally, I felt that there was a lack of direction to the plot, it was boring to watch, and I don’t feel any more knowledgeable about Turner’s life.

I really enjoyed this film, especially since there was an exhibit of his work at the Kimbell museum in Ft.Worth at the time I watched it. Some of the arcane British slang threw me (actually had to look up a couple of terms, not in use any more). I only wished it had been focused on his work more and the process he (artists) had to use back in his day (e g.: making your own paint). Nevertheless, one of the greatest artists ever, and one of the few who from humble beginnings, achieved some wealth and notariety in his lifetime, and didnt die a pauper. Plus how many artist donated all their work to their government so the works would be accessible to the public for free.

This is a remarkable and uncompromising film with Timothy Spall playing William Turner in a manner that refuses to submit to the normal Hollywood definition of a biographical portrayal and rather illustrates the determination and self absorption that such a character in those times would exhibit.Some beautiful photography and some equally remarkable CGI illustrating the times and the landscapes. I think the CGI moving image of The Fighting Temeraire will stay with me for a long time. I was not sure if i actually liked Joseph Mallord William Turner, but perhaps considering the grotesqueness of the age and the people at the time, one could only wonder how any of us would have survived in such a time?An excellent film, in all respects and a tribute to the artist, the times and the uncompromising efforts of the director and film crew to present an accurate image, well recommended.The Blu ray arrived on time and in perfect condition.

A long, slow film dealing with a difficult subject; I can understand why some viewers didn't have the patience to watch this, but I found it interesting and often quite pertinent.Making a film about a painter exciting for the general viewer is a challenge for any film-maker (maybe the best effort is “Pollock” by Ed Harris) but J.M.W. Turner is a daunting subject and on the whole, Mike Leigh has had a pretty good stab at it.The film is episodic in conception; the cinematography and CGI effects are beautiful and rich in period detail; it does – I think – capture something of the character of Turner as he appeared to his contemporaries in the accounts I've read of him and Timothy Spall puts in a fine performance. He has the help of an excellent supporting cast and I particularly found the portrayal of John Ruskin (played by Joshua McGuire) sharp and wickedly amusing; this is to some degree a caricature of the art critic, but his dialogues rather echo the over-analytical hyperbole of today's art critics who pointedly do not have artists the stature of Turner to comment on (and Ruskin is fair game for anyone who has seen  Effie Gray [DVD ]- I should think).There's not a lot of painting actually seen (Some of the scenes with Spall sketching are in out-takes on disc 2 of the special edition) as the film is, primarily a character study; my one serious reservation is the speculative relationship between Turner and his housekeeper which has a misogynistic tone – I consider this a denigration of Turner and find it hard to understand why Leigh included it – it certainly loses a star for this blemish imposed on Turner`s character.A well-made period piece, the sum of parts greater than the whole; it isn't quite up to Leigh`s standard on “Topsy Turvy” but is by no means a bad film.The second disc of the special edition contains about an hour's worth of interviews and deleted scenes with some minor duplication of material in the “making of” documentary on disc 1. Effie Gray [DVD

I'd have given more stars for Mr Spall's acting but was voting on the actual film which threw me a bit as it wasn't what I was expecting. I managed to get into it a bit more as it went on and I learned more online afterwards which helped me make sense of the characters in the film. I got the impression it had been put together as pieces of known information or situations in Turner's life a bit like a patchwork quilt where squares of knowledge were sewn together. I particularly enjoyed Mr Spall's section explaining elements of Mr Turner's life and the making of the film itself as an extra part of the DVD. Apparently the man was enigmatic and secretive, I'd have liked to have known why although I appreciate that may not be something generally known.

A fascinating meander through a series of loosely-linked scenes from Turner's later life. Timonthy Spall is brilliant. You don't want to take your eyes off him for a moment in case you miss a small expression or gesture. His relationships with his father and with Mrs Booth (both excellently portrayed) are quietly touching. The only thing overshadowing his art is the artistry of the camera work and the serene but melancholy background music. These combine to produce a truly thoughtful, slow-paced and nuanced film. Straight into my Top 20.

I expected to like this a lot. I like Turner, I like Timothy Spall, and I like Mike Leigh, but somehow it did not work for me. It was very well staged and shot but there was nothing gripping about the story. In fact there was not much of a story at all, more a series of episodes which might not make a lot of sense if you did not have some knowledge already of Turner and the people around him. Nor was it made up for by much insight into Turner's 'art'. So I am glad I saw it once but doubt I will be watching it again