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Originally Posted by ilduclo

I sort of liked Mr Turner. I didn't think it was the in the better ranking of Mike Leigh's movies. It was really pretty for sure. For better Leigh, I'd say Naked, Happy Go Lucky and Another Year. Spall has also been a lot better in other roles.

i saw naked and i did not like it. i'm not saying it was "bad" but it was definitely not for me because a) i couldn't understand a word the fucker was saying, and b) when i could understand him it was dark disturbing shit. i can't sit in front of that for 2 hours. but not saying it was bad, just that it was too successful in doing its thing with me.

other stuff of him i've seen
-a handful of his five minute films. nice sort of slice of life/social.
-life is sweet. saw this recently. iiked it a lot. timothy spall is in it.
-secrets and lies. i really liked this movie when i saw it many years ago. again timothy spall is the central character if i recall (the one who has the climactic speech anyway)
-vera drake. solid. good piece of social realism

haven't seen topsy turvy (want to), happy go lucky or another year, BUT-- my sense of his previous films (well, those i've seen) is that they're all about the dialogue. endless talking, and very good (and disturbing as in naked), but talk-based.

this film however is rooted in silence. not just because turner grunts a lot-- it's in the pace of the film. a lot of quiet moments. a lot is unsaid. i think that poor maid for example says no more than 30 words in the whole film and still you get her whole predicament. brilliant. but also among the "intelligent" characters and in every scene there is a lot of quiet. a lot is said without the dialogue that i'm accustomed to when it comes to a mike leigh film. where secrets and lies or vera drake were good filmed theatre, this one is film.

true i haven't seen the 2 before so maybe he's been testing that out already but this for me was a good big surprise. it's definitely a lot more than "pretty". there is an ecstatic quality about many of those images-- he tries to put you in those paintings, or behind the eyes that saw those paintings. in that, it's really brilliant work.