Eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner lives his last 25 years with gusto and secretly becomes involved with a seaside landlady, while his faithful housekeeper bears an unrequited love for him.
Acting
Timothy Spall's physical transformation into a wheezing, waddling force of nature.
Cinematography
Dick Pope's painterly frames that bleed into actual Turner compositions.
Practical Effects
Leigh's immersive production design—you can practically smell the linseed oil.
Director
Mike Leigh
Timothy Spall
JMW Turner
Dorothy Atkinson
Hannah Danby
Marion Bailey
Sophia Booth
Paul Jesson
William Turner Snr
Lesley Manville
Mary Somerville
Martin Savage
Benjamin Robert Haydon
Ruth Sheen
Sarah Danby
David Horovitch
Dr Price
Karl Johnson
Mr. Booth
Peter Wight
Joseph Gillot
Joshua McGuire
John Ruskin
Stuart McQuarrie
Ruskin's Father
Sylvestra Le Touzel
Ruskin's Mother
Leo Bill
JE Mayall
Kate O'Flynn
Prostitute
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Spall spent two years learning to paint like Turner and could replicate several masterpieces by filming.
Leigh's improvisational rehearsal method meant the cast discovered Turner's character collectively over months, mirroring how the painter himself found images in chaos.
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