Review of Mr. Turner

The only thing wrong with this movie was that it had actors in it. Had this been shown without them, we would be treated to some beautifully arranged scenes and scenery. As it is, however, we see the rodent-like Timothy Spall grunting lifelessly along with no particular purpose for 2.5 hours. Even when he speaks, his dialect is so incomprehensible that the Americans I watched it with thought he was speaking Dutch. Indeed, if you are American, you will most definitely need English subtitles. But then again, the characters really had nothing important to say anyway, so why bother. It is one of those movies that you know the main character is eventually going to die, and you hope it happens as soon as possible, preferably, before you do.

Mike Leigh has made some great films, but this certainly isn't one of them. The problem for me is that Turner is one of my favorite artists. I had hoped to get some insights into his character. What I got were vignettes: short, loosely connected historic anecdotes pasted clumsily together in a hopeless effort to make a film. I really had little idea of what motivated Turner or why any women would have the least interest in him.

So if you want to spend 2.5 hours looking at some beautifully reconstructed scenes depicting life in the early 19th Century and see some of Turner's works, this might be for you. However, if you want to watch a movie, you'll have to go somewhere else.