Thursday, May 15, 2014

2014 Cannes Film Festival: Mike Leigh's Passion Project Mr. Turner Lands

I now know that if a Mike Leigh film lands, and it gets good reviews (which they almost always do), it is going to be in the Oscar race. Even Another Year, which seemed to have completely slipped off the radar a couple of years ago, managed to score a Best Original Screenplay nomination, seemingly out of nowhere. Well, it looks like he has another winner on his hands. The initial reviews after its Cannes premiere range from likability to raves, but either way it looks like it will definitely be a major part of the conversation heading into the upcoming Oscar season. The one I will be looking for down the line is not Leigh, but the lead Timothy Spall. He too is receiving a lot of major buzz, and has been a dedicated British character actor for a long time. The Best Actor race is usually brutal, so it may just be a pipe dream. But Mr. Turner might finally be the film that gets Spall some much overdue praise and awards glory. Check out some of the review snippets below, complete with links to the full reviews:

Peter Bradshaw at The Guardian (UK) was one of those raves:

"What a glorious film this is, richly and immediately enjoyable, hitting its satisfying stride straight away. It's funny and visually immaculate; it combines domestic intimacy with an epic sweep and has a lyrical, mysterious quality that perfumes every scene, whether tragic or comic."

Full Review: http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/may/15/mr-turner-cannes-review-mike-leigh-2014

Scott Foundas at Variety writes:

"” Leigh has made another highly personal study of art, commerce and the glacial progress of establishment tastes, built around a lead performance from longtime Leigh collaborator Timothy Spall that’s as majestic as one of Turner’s own swirling sunsets. A natural awards contender across multiple categories."

Full Review: http://variety.com/2014/film/reviews/cannes-film-review-mr-turner-1201182098/

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