Synopsis: An exploration of the last quarter century of the great, if eccentric, British painter J.M.W. Turner’s life.

Release Date: December 19, 2014

Thoughts: I tend to forget how much I enjoy the work of writer/director Mike Leigh. A filmmaker interested in the unconventional life, he’s provided great roles for some of our most dependable actors over the years. From exploring the class system in Secrets & Lies to his bouncy biopic of Gilbert and Sullivan in Topsy-Turvy, Leigh’s films are long but rarely feel like you’ve been seated more than a few minutes. His newest picture features the always dependable Timothy Spall (Room on the Broom) as painter J.M.W. Turner, a landscape artist known as ‘the painter of light’ during the Romantic period. Sounds like stodgy stuff but in Leigh’s hands I wouldn’t be surprised to see this lauded as one of the better pictures of the year.