Mr. Turner

Mr. Turner
Directed by	Mike Leigh
Written by	Mike Leigh
Produced by	Danielle Brandon Helen Grearson Georgina Lowe Norman Merry
Starring	Timothy Spall Dorothy Atkinson Paul Jesson Marion Bailey Ruth Sheen Lesley Manville Martin Savage
Cinematography	Dick Pope
Edited by	Jon Gregory
Music by	Gary Yershon
Production companies	British Film Institute Film4 Focus Features International Lipsync Productions Thin Man Films Xofa Productions
Distributed by	Entertainment One (UK)[2] Sony Pictures Classics (US)
Release dates	15 May 2014 (2014-05-15) (Cannes[1]) 31 October 2014 (2014-10-31) (UK) 3 December 2014 (2014-12-03) (France) 19 December 2014 (2014-12-19) (US)
Running time	149 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Mr. Turner is a forthcoming 2014 British biographical drama film, written and directed by Mike Leigh, and starring Timothy Spall, Dorothy Atkinson, Paul Jesson, Marion Bailey and Ruth Sheen. The film concerns the life and career of British artist J. M. W. Turner (played by Spall). It premiered in competition for the Palme d'Or at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival,^[3] where Spall won the award for Best Actor^[4] and cinematographer Dick Pope received a special jury prize for the film's cinematography.^[5]

Leigh has described Turner as "a great artist: a radical, revolutionary painter," explaining, "I felt there was scope for a film examining the tension between this very mortal, flawed individual, and the epic work, the spiritual way he had of distilling the world."^[6]

A look at the last quarter century of the great British painter J. M. W. Turner (Spall). Profoundly affected by the death of his esteemed father, loved by his housekeeper, Hannah Danby (Atkinson), whom he takes for granted and occasionally exploits sexually, he forms a close relationship with a seaside landlady with whom he eventually lives incognito in Chelsea, where he dies. Throughout all this, Turner travels, paints, stays with the country aristocracy, visits brothels, is a popular if anarchic member of the Royal Academy of Arts, has himself strapped to the mast of a ship so that he can paint a snowstorm, and is both celebrated and reviled by the public and by royalty.^[7]

Main Cast

• Timothy Spall as Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851)

An artist, never married, he had two mistresses, and two children, of whom he denied being the father. ^[8]

• Dorothy Atkinson as Hannah Danby (1786-1853)

Mr. Turner's faithful housekeeper for 40 years, whom he exploited sexually while she suffered from the skin disease psoriasis. She died two years after Turner and loved him despite his treatment of her. She was the daughter of Sarah Danby's husband's brother.

• Paul Jesson as William Turner (1745-1829) - Mr. Turner's father. His wife Mary died young in an insane asylum, and a daughter died at age 5 leaving Mr. Turner an only child. He lived with his son until his death, which had a deep effect on Mr. Turner.
• Marion Bailey as Sophia Booth (1798-1875) - Mr. Turner's landlady and second mistress, twice widowed, she had one son with her first husband. Her second husband John Booth (Karl Johnson) was a marine. After Mr. Booth died, she became involved with Mr. Turner.
• Ruth Sheen as Sarah Danby (1760-1861) - Hannah's aunt (by marriage) and Mr. Turner's first mistress and mother of his two illegitimate daughters. Her husband (and Hannah's uncle) Mr. Danby (a musician) had died leaving her a young widow. She later became involved with Mr. Turner.
• Sandy Foster as Evalina Dupois (1801-1874) - daughter of Mr. Turner and Sarah Danby, she married and gave Mr. Turner grandchildren, the first being Rosalie Dupois.
• Amy Dawson as Georgiana Thompson (1811-1843) - daughter of Mr. Turner and Sarah Danby, she married and died age 32 during childbirth.
• Lesley Manville as Mary Somerville (1780-1872) - a scientist and friend of Mr. Turner's. She gained renown at a time where even the notion of women engaging in study was not condoned.
• Martin Savage as Benjamin Haydon (1786-1846) - an artist and friend of Mr. Turner's. He committed suicide in 1846, age 60.

Supporting Characters

• Joshua McGuire as John Ruskin (1819-1900) - a famed British art critic.
• Fenella Woolgar as Elizabeth Eastlake (1809-1893) - a famed British art critic, wife of Charles Eastlake (Robert Portall) (1793-1865)
• James Fleet as John Constable (1776-1837) - another famed British artist.
• Karina Fernandez as Mrs. Coggins
• Kate O'Flynn as The Prostitute - a prostitute Mr. Turner visits at a brothel
• Elizabeth Berrington as Lady Art Critic
• Eileen Davies as Lady Art Critic
• Tom Wlaschiha as Prince Albert
• Sinead Matthews as Queen Victoria
• Richard Bremmer as George Jones (1786-1869) - another famed British artist.
• David Horovitch as Dr. Price - Mr. Turner's doctor for many years.
• Peter Wight as Joseph Gillott (1799-1873) - a British arts patron.
• Jamie Thomas King as David Roberts (1796-1864) - a famed Scottish painter.
• Roger Ashton-Griffiths as Henry William Pickersgill (1782-1875) - another famed British painter.
• Simon Chandler as Augustus Wall Callcott (1779-1844) - another famed British painter.
• Leo Bill as J.E Mayall (1813-1901) - famed British photographer.
• Edward de Souza as Thomas Stothard (1755-1834) - another famed British painter.

Petworth House and Park, West Sussex, the actual place where Turner stayed and painted.

Wentworth Woodhouse, Yorkshire, used to portray the Royal Academy of Arts.

Lord North Street, London, for some exterior scenes.

Hampermill House, Three Rivers, Hertfordshire, representing Turner's house on Cheyne Walk.

Luton Hoo Estate, Luton, Bedfordshire, for some market scenes.

Kingsand, Cornwall, to represent Margate.

Mr. Turner had its premiere at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival,^[9] where it competed for the Palme d'Or, with Timothy Spall winning the Best Actor award and cinematographer Dick Pope winning the Vulcan Award. Entertainment One are scheduled to release the film in the United Kingdom on 31 October 2014. Sony Pictures Classics will handle the United States distribution, with a scheduled release date of 19 December 2014. It is scheduled to be screened in the Special Presentations section of the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.^[10]

Mr. Turner currently holds a 97% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 23 reviews, with an average score of 8.2/10.^[11] On Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film holds an average score of 96, based on 10 reviews, indicating 'Universal Acclaim'.

• Mr. Turner at IMDb
• Mr. Turner at Rotten Tomatoes
• Mr. Turner at Metacritic
• Mr. Turner on Facebook