Saturday 25 October 2014

Went to see Mr Turner the day after it opened at a BFI screening.  Mike Leigh, Timothy Spall and JMW Turner - I was pretty sure I was going to like it, and predictably, I did.  It's very cinematic for Mike Leigh, with beautifully composed shots and all dark, warm colours.  It shows JMW in his later years as a bit of an old bastard, especially in his treatment of women, and the children he refuses to acknowledge, but likeable if you go for jowly, grumbling, sometimes growling types.  Great reconstruction of Turner witnessing the Fighting Temeraire, just as painted, from a rowing boat, it was like watching the Channel 4 idents, waiting for everything to come exactly into line.  They did the "strapped to the mast" scene, but not the burning of the Houses of Parliament, apparently they just didn't have the budget to stage it.
Going to the cinema a lot more now that Lizzie's joined the BFI, and now she's 18 we can even go for a drink afterwards to talk about it.  Happy days, as they say.
Link to trailer

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