Virginia Film Festival

In the last quarter century of life for the eccentric, vulnerable, and sometimes uncouth British painter, J.M.W. Turner reacts to the death of his father, forming a close relationship with a seaside landlady with whom he eventually lives incognito in Chelsea, up until his death. Throughout this, he travels, paints, resides with aristocracy, visits brothels, is a popular (if anarchic) member of the Royal Academy of Arts, straps himself to the mast of a ship to paint a snowstorm, and is both celebrated and reviled by the public and by royalty. Anchored by the performance of Timothy Spall, Mr. Turner premiered at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival where it took home the award for Best Actor. Introduction by Bruce Boucher (U.Va.)

Supported by Watermark Design