Mike Leigh writes and directs this Academy Award-nominated biographical drama about British artist J.M.W. Turner, who is here portrayed by Timothy Spall. The film explores the last 25 years or so of Turner's life in which he suffers greatly after the loss of his beloved father William (Paul Jesson) and has relations with his housekeeper Hannah Danby (Dorothy Atkinson) and, later, landlady Sophia Booth (Marion Bailey), who he lives with in Chelsea until his death. During this time he refuses to acknowledge the existence of his two illegitimate daughters Evelina (Sandy Foster) and Georgiana (Amy Dawson) and develops his painting style, which is often both praised and criticised. The cast also includes Lesley Manville, Karl Johnson and Ruth Sheen.