9 Upcoming 2014 Movies That Are Most Likely To Catch Us By Surprise
2. Mr. Turner
Mike Leigh has been turning out reliably challenging cinema for over twenty years now with a few genuine classics along the way. His follow-up to one of those classics (2010s Another Year) sees him finally bringing his passion project to the big screen: a biopic on the life of British painter J.M.W. Turner. Leigh is no stranger to the biopic, having previously helmed the Gilbert & Sullivan comedy Topsy-Turvy in 1999, but Mr. Turner looks to stand in stark contrast not only to that film, but to most of Leighs filmography, while still somehow maintaining Leighs signature. Where this film will likely surprise is in the fact that while its premise reads as mid-90s Oscar bait, Leigh promises to explore the lesser known, significantly darker aspects of Turners life, specifically the artists mental health struggles. The film will be no less of a handsomely mounted period piece and will feature an all-time great giving it everything hes got. It could very well go down as a harrowing character study that lands its star, reliable (and criminally underrated) character actor Timothy Spall in the thick of the Best Actor race in February. And if the film hits big, we could be looking at a major awards player across the board.
