A look at the last quarter century of the great if eccentric British painter J. M. W. Turner (Spall). Profoundly affected by the death of his esteemed father, loved by his housekeeper, Hannah Danby (Atkinson), who he takes for granted and occasionally exploits sexually, he forms a close relationship with a seaside landlady with whom he eventually lives incognito in Chelsea, where he dies. Throughout all this, Turner travels, paints, stays with the country aristocracy, visits brothels, is a popular if anarchic member of the Royal Academy of Arts, has himself strapped to the mast of a ship so that he can paint a snowstorm, and is both celebrated and reviled by the public and by royalty.

The movie stars Timothy Spall, Dorothy Atkinson, Paul Jesson, Marion Bailey, Ruth Sheen, Lesley Manville, and Martin Savage. Mike Leigh wrote and directed.

New York Film Festival 2014 begins on Sept 26. For more info, check out NYFF 2014.