There is a moment in this startling biopic by Mike Leigh (Happy Go Lucky) where art doesn't imitate life so much as it becomes a work of art itself.

In revealing the latter stages of the painter J.M.W. Turner's illustrious career, Leigh creates a more visceral experience of the man. It's an emotional, sensual response to an influential artist who, at the top of his game, began to challenge the establishment. In lighting the touch paper for a cultural revolution, he dared do what no one else would, and they didn't like it.

Mr Turner is also a reflection of the man's personal life; an embittered relationship with his companion, her daughters (perhaps his) and the new life he took up with a new mistress. It also explores the intimate relationship with his father, and the mental scars left after his death.

Without doubt, this is Leigh's most ambitious film. Best loved for intimate dramas like Secrets And Lies or Vera Drake, this story is drawn on an enormous canvas and takes on a Renaissance like quality as he creates small vignettes that recreate moments in Turner's life. They're driven along by the movement of time and while some come together to create a narrative thread, many simply exist as frozen points in time, studies if you will, that serve to tell more about Turner's character than to serve serve any plot mechanic.

Over nearly three hours this can become frustrating for anyone expecting a more linear introduction to the painter. But patient viewers are rewarded with a uniquely compelling and unexpectedly memorable experience as Leigh teases out the passion in Turners life. The beautiful, at times poetic production is a major credit to cinematographer and Leigh favourite, Dick Pope.

But towering above all is the mesmerising performance of another favourite, Timothy Spall (Sweeny Todd). He brings this odd, elusive presence to the character that, like Turner's own paintings, becomes a series of impressions that, when seen from the right angle, create an astounding vision. It is truly remarkable, and it is unlikely you'll see its kind again.

// COLIN FRASER

Previewed at Paramount Theatre, Sydney on October 23, 2014