In a year brimming with outstanding performances from leading men (Redmayne, Keaton, Oyelowo, Cumberbatch, Gleeson, Hardy…the list goes on for days), Timothy Spall rose to the top as the best of the best (in my humble opinion) with his career-defining turn as British landscape painter JMW Turner in Mike Leigh’s transcendental biopic, Mr. Turner. Spall’s Turner is a walking contradiction, a boorish, unpleasant-looking man who created some of the most beautiful works of art the world has seen. With guttural groans and bestial snorts Spall manages to reveal the soul of the late artist, creating one of the most fully-realized onscreen characters in years.

In our extended interview with the British actor, we discuss his extensive research process, the difficulty of playing such a contradictory character, Turner’s greatest fear, the art of grunting, the time when he transformed into Turner in front of a frightened bartender, the difference between embodying a character and playing a character, working with Mike Leigh, and much more.

English landscape painter JMW Turner, commonly exalted as “the painter of light”, was one of the great artists of the 19th century, his work considered by art historians something of a precursor to the impressionist movement. It’s perfect, then, that Mike Leigh‘s marvelous Mr. Turner takes an impressionistic approach to exploring Turner’s character, focusing on intimate, revelatory, and often unflattering moments in the late painter’s life, stressing truth over historical accuracy while never shattering Turner’s mystique. Unlike your typical artist hagiography, Mr. Turner doesn’t attempt to cram every significant event and accomplishment of Turner’s life into a filmic nutshell. It does something much better: it gives us a sense of what it would feel like to be in Turner’s presence, in a time when he still sauntered around above soil.

As you may have picked up on from all the awards buzz overrunning every movie site on the internet (including us), Turner is played by the phenomenal Timothy Spall in what, for my money, is the best performance of 2014. When you look at Turner’s oil and watercolor masterpieces, of churning oceans under thunderclouds and placid lakes under sun-drenched bridges, you may imagine a slender fellow wearing fancy clothes, gently kissing the canvas with his brush, held between three fingers. Spall, as you may have noticed, isn’t slender or fancy or gentle, and as Turner he’s straight-up bestial, a tubby slob communicating mostly in growla, grunts, and groans, holding his paintbrush with a fist and violently thrusting it onto the canvas in a motion of controlled chaos.

Turner’s artistic prowess is always evident, but the pervading fact is that he’s mostly an ordinary, middle-aged man with as many flaws as the drunk down the street at the local tavern. He’s a boor and a womanizer, using his maid as a sex toy whenever he feels the compulsion (Dorothy Atkinson overachieves in a small, but significant role). He’s an absentee father, refusing to acknowledge his daughters’ presence in the rare occasion that they work up the courage to visit the old pig with their mother, his former mistress (the wonderful Ruth Sheen). The only aspect of his life he treats with a measure of class is his vocation, a field in which he’s driven, committed, and uncompromising. His artistic legacy and reputation is of utmost importance to him (he staunchly refuses to sell his collection to a dignitary for an ungodly amount of money, insisting that his work remain accessible to the public), and he views his colleagues as competitors and rivals.

Leigh’s lucid insight into what makes the mind of an artist tick is fascinating. So often is the artistic process romanticized and idealized in film, but here Leigh states plainly that not every artistic achievement is inspired by some life catastrophe or eternal adoration of a muse or lover. Many of the notable things we see happen to Turner–from his beloved father (Paul Jesson) dying, to finding a soul mate on his frequent trips to Margate in widow Sophia Booth (a fantastic Marion Bailey)–don’t seem to shape or inform his artistic endeavors at all. This contradicts everything we’ve been conditioned to think about art and artists in movies, and it’s a rejuvenating, eye-opening experience to watch it all unfold.

The contradictory nature of Turner is reflected in the film’s painterly imagery, which frames his physically grotesque figure with environments and landscapes as beautiful and richly colored and textured as his paintings. Seriously, it’s staggering how pretty this movie is; cinematography snobs will gawk or pass out from the glory of it all. For Leigh and cinematographer Dick Pope to achieve the same level of artistry with their moving images as Turner did on canvas is mind-boggling, and yet, they’ve damn well done it. (This is coming from an art history layman, mind you. Art geeks, don’t kill me.)

It all just feels so right and whole and meant to be. Every shot and camera movement is deliberate and precise. Every line of dialogue (yes, even the growls and snorts) expresses just enough. I’ve not in years seen an onscreen character that feels as fully-realized as Turner, and Spall’s seamless performance combined with the immaculate set and costume design and stunning photography makes for a film that feels more like a time machine than a period piece. It’s hard to imagine Leigh, Spall, and their team improving upon what they put forth in this transcendental masterpiece.

We’ve been hearing a lot about 2014 as a blah year for movies, a notion seemingly supported by a lack of gut-wrenching and heartrending heavy hitters like last year’s 12 Years a Slave, Dallas Buyers Club, and Gravity. And the performances from those films were just so much more obviously weighty, it wasn’t hard to pick out the ones that gripped us, because, well, they gripped us pretty hard.

But that’s why this year has been so wonderful. Instead of somber dramas, some of 2014’s best films have been comedic (Birdman), scary (The Babadook), and filled with unlikeable characters (Whiplash, Nightcrawler). And this is where the fun of nuancing and parsing out the best performances of this year begins. Because this year we felt different emotions than we did last year, but oh boy did we feel them, and that has all to do with some seriously good acting.

Our list of 2014’s best performances considers all actors as equals regardless of lead or supporting role and with no division of male or female actors. Listed in no particular order is our list of the performances Way Too Indie staff found most compelling this year.

Way Too Indie’s 15 Best Performances of 2014

Dan Stevens – The Guest

The role Stevens plays in Adam Wingard’s The Guest is much more difficult than is usually required for this type of flashy genre film. In the film, “David” must appeal to every character he is trying to dupe in different ways. When he springs himself on the family of a fallen comrade, he has to be a sensitive young man to Laura, an ultra cool badass to Luke, a beer-drinking everyman with Spencer and a hunky protector to Anna. He also, though, has to be all of that (and more) to the viewer, even when we know something is up. The characters in the film may take a while to figure him out (indeed, some of them too late), the nature of this genre throwback sets up the viewer from the start to know “David” isn’t who he says he is, though we may not know the extent of his capabilities. The Guest is one of the funnest movie-going experiences of the year because we love seeing “David” fit all of these roles. We revel in his lie, cheering him on as he beats up high school kids and somehow survives an intense shootout with special forces. But we also genuinely like him. Deep down, he tricks us, too. [Aaron]

Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything

Regardless of your stance on James Marsh’s Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything, one thing almost everyone can agree on is Eddie Redmayne’s outstanding performance. The film begins during the early stages of Stephen’s declining physical abilities, the occasional coffee spilling and pen fumbling are chalked up to general clumsiness. While this foreshadows the tragedy ahead, it more importantly allows viewers to witness the famous physicist before the disease takes away his ability to walk and communicate. What’s impressive to watch is the transformation into this physically demanding role, which required limiting all of his body movements while still containing his charming personality. The fundamental testament to Redmayne’s work occurs near the end when he emerges from his wheelchair in a dream sequence. It’s a stunning moment, watching him actually walk and then be subsequently reminded that Redmayne is indeed acting, which speaks volumes to his extraordinary performance. He’s sure to gather notice during this award season. [Dustin]

Essie Davis – The Babadook

There’s a level of fatigue only parents know; it comes with raising a child and it is calculated using the denominators 24, 7, and 365. Still, most parents wouldn’t trade it for all the Sandman’s sand. There are a few who might, though, if given the chance, and one of those parents can be found in Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook. Her name is Amelia, and how Essie Davis gasps life into this desperate single mother is staggering. Long before Mr. Babadook wreaks the havoc that spirals Amelia into near-madness, her son Samuel brings a little terror of his own. He is six years’ worth of boundless energy with a volume that Spinal Tap would envy, all complicated by an obsession with a monster that doesn’t (yet) exist. This first half of the film is where Davis mesmerizes. She’s not just the tired single mom with the full-time job and the hyper kid. She’s that woman, plus the one whose husband was killed while taking her to give birth to Samuel six years prior. This background introduces resentment into a mother/child relationship that shouldn’t have such a thing. Davis keeps that resentment one slivery layer below the surface, which puts normal parental fatigue deep in her rearview mirror and has her speeding down the road of emotional exhaustion. With every tired sigh a defeated cry for mercy and with every momentary slouch a little less resistance against the weight of regret, Davis portrays defeated like no one before her. And then the Babadook shows up. [Michael]

J.K. Simmons – Whiplash

Irredeemable. That’s Terence Fletcher in a nutshell. He’s the meanest, nastiest, most abusive jazz instructor on earth in Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash, and he will never, ever apologize for calling his students “limp-dick fucks” or giving them valuable performance tips like, “That’s not your boyfriend’s dick; don’t come too early.” Playing Fletcher is the incomparable J.K. Simmons, who’s an absolute force of nature in the drummer drama, the veins on his bald head pulsing as he berates his poor students, muscles bulging under his tight black shirt. He calls them faggots, too. Again, no apologies.

What Simmons brings to the role that lesser actors wouldn’t is utter remorselessness: this is who Fletcher is, and you either take it up the ass or he’ll kick you the fuck out. That’s the deal. He’ll make you tremble and weep because he’s not human; he’s evil incarnate, and he doesn’t care about redemption or the happiness of himself or others. He exists for a single purpose, letting nothing stand in his way, least of all sympathy or morality. It’s an unflattering role, and Simmons embraces it without ego. No one could have done better. [Bernard]

Jake Gyllenhaal – Nightcrawler

It’s not entirely surprising that Nightcrawler received comparisons to Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. Despite the differences between those two movies, the hard to resist likability of both films’ psychotic leads makes it hard to root against them completely even as they commit their most vile acts. What makes Gyllenhaal’s Lou Bloom even more frightening than De Niro’s Travis Bickle is Bloom’s ability to exist within the system. He embodies many of the characteristics of a model employee in a modern, competitive, capitalist climate. His ghostly pale complexion serves to accentuate the dark shadows created on Bloom’s emaciated face (Gyllenhaal lost 20 pounds to help give Bloom that hollowed-out appearance) and make his presence even more unsettling. As Bloom, Gyllenhaal exploits people’s ugliest indulgences to get ahead in the world of freelance crime journalism and is rewarded for his lack of empathy, particularly in people’s darkest moments. The actor brings Bloom to life through an unhinged, masterful performance. Delivering lines of dialog with an unnaturally chipper tone, Gyllenhaal gives Bloom the social acumen of an alien that’s slipped on human clothing. The actor has never been better and the character is hauntingly familiar. [Zachary]

Marion Cotillard – Two Days, One Night

As Sandra, the worker desperately fighting for her job over the course of one weekend, Marion Cotillard pulls off her best performance to date. After taking time off work due to severe depression, Sandra finds out her bosses have given her the boot through a borderline sadistic method: by letting her coworkers vote on either letting Sandra keep her job or receiving their yearly bonus. After convincing her superiors to hold a re-vote after the weekend, Sandra visits each one of her 16 coworkers to ask them to give up their bonus in order to save her job. Cotillard, whose face could act as the definition of sympathy, fully embodies Sandra, and her raw emotions put the viewer right with her when she goes from hopelessly despondent to joyously optimistic. As clichéd as it sounds, Cotillard simply is Sandra. Sometimes it’s hard to watch an A-list star on-screen and separate the performance from the celebrity; that’s never the case with Cotillard, who does it with so much ease it’s no wonder why she’s considered one of the greatest actors working today. [C.J.]

Michael Keaton – Birdman

Acting within the constraints of Birdman’s captivating long-takes would be a challenge for any actor, but as Riggan Thomson, Michael Keaton bears the brunt of the film’s heavy lifting. Without the benefits of traditional film editing pulling together the best parts from several takes, Birdman’s stars are required to be at their best for the duration of every long-take scene they’re in. This is doubly true of Keaton as the film’s lead, guiding the audience and the camera through claustrophobic Broadway backstage hallways during quick-tongued Sorkin-esque walk-and-talks. Riggan teeters on the brink of sanity, and in Keaton’s embodiment of the character you can almost see the threads coming loose. When the tone abruptly shifts, Keaton demonstrates an enviable flexibility as an actor, turning a belly laugh into an unexpectedly poignant confession within only a few lines. As the character facing a series of obstacles that threaten to prematurely end his self-mounted comeback before it can begin, Keaton clutches to whatever empathetic strings are left for Riggan, while also allowing the character to slip further away from lucidity. His performance is simultaneously among the funniest and most heartfelt of 2014. [Zachary]

Patricia Arquette – Boyhood

While Ellar Coltrane grows up in front of our eyes as Mason, the boy in Richard Linklater’s everyday-epic Boyhood, sitting on the periphery throughout the coming of age journey is Patricia Arquette, as the boy’s mom. Mason’s moral makeup is shaped as he watches his single mom face stiff adversity (“a parade of drunken assholes” he once calls it), endure and adapt. We always see her from a distance, the same distance most boys keep from their mom.

She’s his anchor, but what’s special about the character is that she isn’t anchored to the ground herself; she’s on her own life journey, parallel to young Mason’s, and grows as much as he does. Over the colossal 12-year production, Arquette managed to form the most beautiful character arc in the film. Her performance is so rounded, so natural, so cogent, that at times Boyhood feels more like a home movie than a marketable Oscar contender. [Bernard]

Reese Witherspoon – Wild

We all have that friend, the one we watch go through life making incomprehensible decisions and reaping the obvious and inevitable consequences. In Wild, Reese Witherspoon is that friend, walking us through the steps that led to one woman’s particularly devastating life choices. And walking the literal steps that lead to her redemption. Witherspoon evokes our compassion, compelling us not to leave this woman for dead, to sleep in the bed she’s made. Perhaps it is how well Witherspoon helps us identify with Cheryl in the little things: her simple humanity in wrestling with her monster of a hiking bag, the fear in her eyes running into mostly men alone on the trail, her rage-filled meltdown when she loses a boot in the opening scene. All of our interactions with Witherspoon throughout the film are intimate and raw; showing us the heart of Cheryl open and vulnerable. Even her thoughts and muttered curses echo what ours might. Despite the depths that her darkness had reached, Witherspoon has us cheering for her to climb out. Her achievement in this is quite incredible: showing us the humanity in the hopeless. [Scarlet]

Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl

Rosamund Pike’s maliciously delicious turn as Amy Dunne in David Fincher’s Gone Girl stands at the very top of the breakthrough 2014 performance pile for me, precisely because it comes from an actor who’s been around for years. Though making a noticeable presence in every role, Pike has always been in the background. For what feels like her entire career, she’s been playing second fiddle to the likes of Pierce Brosnan (Die Another Day), Tom Cruise (Jack Reacher), Keira Knightley (Pride and Prejudice) and Edgar Wright’s Cornetto boys (The World’s End). But all of those roles were worth their trials and errors because they led her to Amy, the part of a lifetime and one that will assuredly change Pike’s career (she’s looking pretty locked for a deserved Oscar nomination at this point). Amy Dunne is the kind of character that takes the fiddle and in an act of magic, snaps it in half and turns it into a saxophone with enough gusto to lead an entire orchestra. Thanks to the story’s structure, Amy is a bundle of multiple personalities (the charmed girlfriend, the doting daughter, the victim, the victor, the bitch, the cool girl, the wife from a modern nightmare), which Pike unpacks like a pro. “There is before Fincher, and after Fincher,” Pike has said on the Gone Girl campaign trail, so it’s pretty clear where the inspiration comes from, but the talent is hers and hers alone. She captures every complex facet of this satirized monster with such precision, charm, and presence; it’s impossible to root against her even when recoiling from her actions and certain personality traits. She’s a revelation, and here’s hoping strong female roles are written with her in mind from now on. [Nik]

Scarlett Johansson – Under the Skin

Johansson has already had a slew of breakout performances that have put her in the current acting elite (Vicky Christina Barcelona, Her, etc.) but none have been as commanding as her nameless character in Under the Skin. She dons a more-than-passable British accent and often dons no clothing. She has to be realistically enticing without overplaying sexuality. The film is borderline incomprehensible, but it doesn’t matter with the strong force at its center. And the more that has been revealed about the film’s strange production, the more interesting and incredible her performance seems. Many of her nameless invader’s conversations and confrontations happen with non-actors who don’t know they are being filmed. Improvisation is a difficult skill for any actor, but usually improvisation in film is done in a fairly controlled setting – everyone knows their general part and are working together to get the heart of the scene right. Here, though, the environment is unpredictable and Johansson proves she’s always ready for what may come. Not to mention pulling off being one of the world’s most recognizable movie stars slipping about incognito. [Aaron]

Stacy Martin – Nymphomaniac

There are a lot of stars that adorn the sensual confines of Lars Von Trier’s newest controversial film, Nymphomaniac. Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgard, Christen Slater, Shia LaBeouf, Uma Thurman and Willem Dafoe are just some of the names that headline. But surprisingly none of them take the spotlight (Thurman comes close) away from film debutant Stacy Martin who makes a big statement as an actress with her role here. It’s been years since we’ve seen a début from a young actress like the one that’s on display here (at the moment, I can’t recall one). Martin is fearless as she portrays a teenage version of Joe (Gainsbourg) who goes from one sexual escapade to another. Von Trier puts her in all sorts of scenes that require contrasting emotional levels. Sometimes she needs to be vulnerable. Sometimes weak, other times powerful. Sometimes even shameless. Sometimes she needs to be more than one at once and never does she shy away. The role would be demanding enough in the hands of any filmmaker but the fact that it’s helmed by Von Trier (who is known for being tough on his leading ladies) only amplifies how impressive her performance is. Mark my words, Martin is going to be a star. [Blake]

Steve Carell – Foxcatcher

When Steve Carell first appears in Bennet Miller’s Foxcatcher, his based-in reality character, John du Pont, invites Channing Tatum’s Mark Schultz into an extravagant trophy room to talk about the business proposal he has. And at first its hard to focus much on what he says because his nose and teeth are so obviously not Carell’s. And then it becomes clear nothing of what we see on that screen is Carell. His slow manner of speech and the strange way he looks down his nose at people and sometimes doesn’t bother to look at them at all. The way he speaks with a pompous pretense, always trying to throw in some tidbit or fact of little circumstance in a weak attempt to prove his superiority. His stiffness, both arrogant and insecure simultaneously. And under it all a boiling tension, an internal battle of psychosis. Carell gives us this in every single scene he’s in. As the spoiled and unloved heir to a massive fortune, his misguided attempts to build love out of the sportsman around him are more than pathetic, they are disturbing. Carell provides layers upon layers to what could easily have been a simple story of mental breakdown and murder. It’s the sort of performance that stays in your head and demands you go home and watch a few episodes of The Office to calm down. [Ananda]

Tilda Swinton – Snowpiercer

To quote Amy Schumer at this year’s Gotham Awards: “Tilda. Fucking. Swinton.” It’s been an amazing year for the Scottish actress, who played three truly memorable roles. It’s just as easy to talk about her amazing turns in Only Lovers Left Alive and The Grand Budapest Hotel, but for us it’s her role as Minister Mason in Snowpiercer that left the biggest impression. Originally written for a man, Swinton came on board and turned the character from a sinister, mild-mannered character to a garish, over the top figure. The absurdity of her character, from the giant glasses to the fake teeth and Yorkshire accent, also gives the film’s gritty first act a bit of levity, while hinting at the bizarre, distorted moments to come as the characters make their way to the front of the train. This is why Tilda Swinton is one of the best; it’s a showy, distinctive role, but it singlehandedly supports and elevates the film to an even better place. [C.J.]

Timothy Spall – Mr. Turner

Mike Leigh has always been something of an ‘actor’s ’ director, often giving his leads opportunities to improvise and find their characters, and in Mr. Turner this approach has been rewarded by a superb performance by Timothy Spall. There are few actors who can inhabit a role quite like Timothy Spall. Spall channels the vivid life of Turner’s paintings into the character, injecting Turner with boundless energy, enthusiasm and a lust for life. Yet Spall also delicately reveals Turner’s flaws; his stubbornness, his lack of empathy for his estranged family and, as he reaches the end of his life, his frustration at his own fragility. What is particularly impressive about Spall’s performance is the sheer array of emotions he conveys non-verbally throughout the film, often saying a thousand words with a simple grunt. Despite being surrounded by a talented cast Spall outshines them all and bears the weight of the film on his shoulders. It is a role that has already earned him the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival and there is a strong chance that he could be in the running for Best Actor at next year’s Oscars. [Eddy]

We Can’t Help But Mention:

We could never include everyone we’d like, but some honorable mentions include: Uma Thurman (Nymphomaniac), John Lithgow (Love is Strange), Jonathan Pryce (Listen Up Philip), Rene Russo (Nightcrawler), David Oyelowo (Selma), Sheila Vand (A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night), Julianne Moore (Still Alice), Jessica Chastain (Miss Julie), Laura Dern (Wild), the cast of Winter Sleep, the cast of We Are The Best!, the cast of Leviathan, cast of Fury, cast of Interstellar, and Agata Kulesza and Agata Trzebuchowska of Ida.

With the beginning of December, the New York Film Critics Circle became the first of many critics groups to release their year-end awards earlier today. Top honors went to IFC Films’ Boyhood, which not only claimed Best Picture but saw its director Richard Linklater and one of its stars Patricia Arquette win prizes. Some of the other big winners were worthy albeit more surprising picks, notably Best Actor going to Mr. Turner‘s Timothy Spall and Best Actress to Marion Cotillard for two films, The Immigrant and Two Days, One Night.

While seen by many as the “first precursor” awards to the Oscars, last year’s New York Film Critics Circle winners overwhelming went Oscar-less at that year’s ceremony. Only Cate Blanchett and Steve McQueen prevailed at both ceremonies, while the other 9 NYFCC winners were passed over by the Academy Awards. This year’s crop of winners contains several suspected frontrunners, including Best Supporting Actor winner J.K. Simmons (Whiplash). Check out the full list of winners below:

Best Picture: Boyhood
Best Director: Richard Linklater (Boyhood)
Best First Film: Jennifer Kent (The Babadook)
Best Actress: Marion Cotillard (for The Immigrant and Two Days, One Night)
Special Award: Adrienne Mancia
Best Actor: Timothy Spall (Mr. Turner)
Best Cinematography: Darius Khondji (The Immigrant)
Best Screenplay: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)
Best Supporting Actor: J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)
Best Nonfiction Film: Citizenfour
Best Foreign Language Film: Ida
Best Animated Film: The Lego Movie

Following a successful opening night at the Mill Valley Film Festival that offered red carpet glamour and a glitzy outdoor celebration, day 2 was all about the festival’s bread and butter: the movies. It started with a pair of meaty arthouse dramas harboring powerhouse performances and ended with a metal god presenting a cult horror classic to cleanse the palate and send us home smiling.

Clouds of Sils Maria and Mr. Turner both star brilliant artists playing…well…brilliant artists. Juliette Binoche stars in the former as an eminently well-respected actress wrestling with her past life, while Timothy Spall grunts and groans as he paints masterpieces in his turn as the eccentric 19th century British painter J.M.W. Turner. Both actors’ performances will stand amongst the best of their respective careers.

But before we get to the heavy stuff, let’s have some fun and talk about our first taste of what’s got to be the weirdest/coolest program at the festival.

Master of Metal, God of Gore

After two films that were rich experiences to say the least (emotionally draining is another way to put it), it was a treat to end the night with the first installment of the festival’s four-part Artists in Residence program, curated by the four members of legendary metal outfit Metallica (who also happen to be local legends). Lead guitarist and horror movie expert Kirk Hammett took to the stage (after a packed autograph session) to introduce one of his favorite horror B-movies, Dracula vs Frankenstein, a cheesy but charming relic from the psychedelic ’70s. An avid collector of horror memorabilia, Hammett discussed with festival Executive Director Mark Fishkin his deep love for scary movies, old and new.

Here’s what Hammett had to say about his obsession with horror:

Stewart Earns Her Stripes

Olivier Assayas’ Clouds of Sils Maria is a serene yet mighty film worthy of its wonderful and universally-adored lead, Juliette Binoche. It’s also one of those rare films that passes the Bechdel test (passed only if a film shows women talking to each other about something other than men) with flying colors: Binoche is paired with rising starlet Kristen Stewart for the majority of the film, and believe me, their conversations are endlessly fascinating, with little help from men at all.

Binoche plays Maria Enders, an actress who made a name for herself as a teenager, playing the role of an office assistant who seduces and emotionally torments her older female boss. Now, decades older, Maria has been asked to be in the play again, this time playing the older woman. With her hip, young assistant Valentine (Stewart), she travels to Sils Maria to rehearse for the part, hiking through the Alps and sipping tea in a beautiful estate as she runs lines over and over, trying to connect with her new role as the old one incessantly tugs at her psyche.

We expect greatness from Binoche, especially with ripe material like this, and she delivers in full. What’s surprising is how excellent a dance partner Stewart is, keeping up with her veteran counterpart beat for beat. Honestly, there are some scenes between the two that I can confidently say Stewart was the best part of. She’s so perceptive and intelligent and compassionate, and it doesn’t hurt that her mellow, under-the-radar vibe fits the role perfectly. Color me impressed.

Growl…Groan…Grumble

Timothy Spall isn’t the prettiest man in the world, but he may be one of the world’s most valuable actors. He plays Romantic British painter J.M.W. Turner, a toad-like, lumbering man who snorts and groans his way through conversations, in Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner. The performance won Spall a best actor award at Cannes, which is no surprise once you see it; it’s positively unpredictable and unforgettable.

Covering the final 25 years or so in the painter’s complex, strange life, the film is a visually stunning portrait of a physically undesirable–but ingenious–man. Cinematographer Dick Pope utilizes some of the prettiest lighting and compositions you’ll see this year to amaze our eyes as Leigh’s patient camera largely sits idle. It’s breathtaking to see Spall’s measured performance framed by such sublime imagery, and I implore you to rush out to theaters to catch Leigh’s latest masterpiece when it hits theaters this Christmas.

That’s it for day 2 of the fest, but stay tuned because we’ve got loads more coverage coming your way from Mill Valley. If you haven’t done so yet (shame on you), check out our coverage of day 1, which includes Hilary Swank and Jason Reitman talking about their new films, The Homesman and Men, Women & Children.

It’s a good time to be a lengthy drama at Cannes. Following last year’s Palme d’Or prize going to the nearly three-hour lesbian relationship drama Blue Is The Warmest Color, the 196-minute Turkish film Winter Sleep has taken Cannes’ top 2014 prize. The film, a favorite of Way Too Indie’s Man In Cannes (read Nikola’s review here), beat out highly anticipated films including Bennett Miller‘s Foxcatcher with Steve Carrell and Channing Tatum, as well as the Dardenne brothers‘ Two Days, One Night starring Marion Cotillard. Foxcatcher and other widely discussed debuts still collected awards at Cannes, although Two Days, One Night did not win any honors.

Full list of 2014 Cannes Film Festival Award Winners:

Palme d’Or
Winter Sleep, (directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan)

Grand Prix
Le Meraviglie (The Wonders), (directed by Alice Rohrwacher)

Prix de la Mise en Scene (Award for Best Director)
Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher

Prix du Scenario (Award for Best Screenplay)
Andrey Zvyagintsev, Oleg Negin, Leviathan

Camera d’Or (Award for Best First Feature):
Party Girl, (directed by Marie Amachoukeli, Claire Burger and Samuel Theis)

Prix d’interpretation feminine (Award for Best Actress)
Julianne Moore, Maps to the Stars (directed by David Cronenberg)

Prix d’interpretation masculine (Award for Best Actor)
Timothy Spall in Mr. Turner (directed by Mike Leigh)

Prix du Jury (Jury Prize)
Mommy (directed by Xavier Dolan)
Adieu Au Langage (Goodbye To Language) (directed by Jean-Luc Godard)

Palme d’Or – Short Film
Leidi (directed by Simón Mesa Soto)

Short Film Special Distinction
Aïssa, (directed by Clément Trehin-Lalanne)
Ja Vi Elsker (Yes We Love), (directed by Hallvar Witzø)

The artist in pursuit of his craft has long been a staple of the biopic, from musicians to writers and beyond. With his latest film Mr. Turner, Mike Leigh contributes the life of British painter J.M.W. Turner to this trope of cinema. Leigh’s brand of intimate comedic dramas can be distinguished even through the 19th century set dressings, to the delight of Happy-Go-Lucky and Another Year fans. English character actor Timothy Spall plays the painter over the last 25 years of his life as his work began to grow more abstract.

The film just had its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival (read our review) and will be released in the UK on October 31st. Watch the trailer below:

Mr. Turner trailer

It’s been too long since we’ve had a Mike Leigh film, but four years is only long with Leigh because the gaps between his movies are felt more heavily than with most. Reviewers have to try and stay as impartial as possible when verbalizing the qualities of a film, but there’s no denying when a filmmaker just does it for you. Leigh is one such example for me. His insistence on working without a screenplay, using the actors’ personal experiences in the creation of the characters as much as possible, and his roots in theatre, all fuse together to form an organic style that has become something of a comforting blanket for me. His latest film, which had its world premiere at Cannes this morning, sees him returning to an examination of artistic sensibilities in the 19th century, a subject he hasn’t broached since 1999’s Topsy Turvy. While it never feels as close as his modern day takes of ordinary woes (Another Year most recently), Mr. Turner is yet another exemplary work of art from a modern day master craftsman.

Following the eccentric lifestyle of British painter J.W.M. Turner (Timothy Spall), the film covers some of the most captivating aspects in the last quarter of Turner’s life. Most notably, his relationship with his father, whom he affectionately still calls ‘Daddy’ (Paul Jesson) and his housemaid Hannah (Dorothy Atkinson) whom he treats like an annoying pet until his carnal urges get the better of him. As we swing back and forth with Turner’s way of life, we follow wherever his inner compass leads us; the Academy of fellow painters, most of whom revere his work; the cliffs and hillsides overlooking the greatest object of his eye’s desire, the tumultuous seas; and a quaint little place he keeps finding inspiration in called Margate. During his visits there, he goes by the name of Mallard and keeps lodging with a chipper Ms. Booth (Marion Bailey). Leigh, together with his actors, cinematographer Dick Pope and composer Gary Yershon, takes us on a journey into the very ether of an artist’s soul, who (much like most artists) is a deeply troubled human being.

Slow off the mark, and slightly drowsy towards the end of it, Mr. Turner makes up for its, at times, lagging pace with its bombastic score and an exquisite kind of cinematography you want to bathe in. Spall will undoubtedly be a contender for Best Actor at Cannes; his gruff exterior portrait of a mad genius smothering the brewing storms he depicts with such passion (his conflicting marine landscapes are so much an extension of himself, he uses his own saliva to smear the colors in) and every other actor is a brilliant extension of Turner’s personality, from Bailey’s nonplussed Ms. Booth to a comical, albeit much too short, turn by Leigh regular Leslie Manville playing philosopher slash astronomer slash mathematician Ms. Somerville. But perhaps for the first time ever in a Mike Leigh film, the genial acting and dialogue (which will make you wish we still spoke in Victorian slang) meet their match with Pope’s photography. Effectively evoking the misty suns and pinkish hues of Turner’s paintings, a lot of the scenic stuff reminded me of the kind of majesty captured in Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon. If there was ever a case to be made of the intricate similarities between painting and cinema, look no further.

Ultimately however, and as always, it all comes down to Mike Leigh. If he doesn’t walk away with the Best Director, Palme or Grand Jury Prize (though it’s much too early to tell, and there’s no viable reason to the contrary) he will still be leaving the French Riviera a winner. His talent of getting under the skin of his characters and illuminating the hidden shadows that reside within us all is still unmatched. His penchant for comedy, a special highlight here involves a discussion of criticism versus art, is still very much present and welcoming. If you’re as big of a Leigh fan as I am, chances are you’ll be craving the next Leigh film just as much. The good news is that, along with all previous Leigh creations, we now have Mr. Turner to keep us company as well.

Rowan Athale attempts to breathe some new life into the heist genre by peppering it with dry British humor, stylized visuals, pulsing soundtrack, and characters with realistic motivations, but Wasteland overcomplicates the story with all of its gimmicky deceptions, leaving you feeling like the one being robbed. The film demands way too much faith from its audience to believe in all of the events that conveniently fall into place during the elaborate heist. Wasteland may have tried too hard to alter the genre formula instead of improving upon it.

The situation does not look promising for Harvey Miller (Luke Treadaway), a man who has only been out of prison for a few weeks but now finds himself back in a police interrogation room. His face looks as if he just stepped out of a boxing match with a heavy-weight champ, but detective Inspector West (Timothy Spall) suggests that the other man in the fight got the worse end of the deal. Harvey indicates that it may take the entire night to explain the whole story, the detective settles in—as does the audience. Harvey remains remarkably calm and even as he begins to recall the elaborate crime, a smug look on his face never leaves.

Through the use of flashbacks it is revealed that Harvey was framed for the prison time he just served by a local drug kingpin named Steven Roper (Neil Maskell) after stealing his girlfriend (Vanessa Kirby). While doing the time for a crime he did not commit, Harvey came up with a plan to get revenge on Roper as soon as he was released from prison. Now with the help of his friends Harvey carefully blueprints the heist that involves stealing ₤60,000 from the club that Roper owns. Harvey details all the intricate steps of the heist down to the smallest of details. After explaining how to always be one-step ahead of everyone he claims that the execution of the heist went wrong, which is why he is currently across the table from the detective—an ending to a story that is so implausible that it fools nobody.

Wasteland ends up going from fairly convincing to absolutely preposterous in its final 30 minutes, where the anticipated twists and turns continue until your eyes are sore from rolling. Because most bank heist thrillers nowadays throw in a few gotchas along the way, you come into the film expecting some purposely left out details. But what makes for a successful plot twist film such as The Usual Suspects, an obvious influence, is that the twist is within reach and right under your nose the entire time. The plot twists in Wasteland are so far-fetched that it is impossible to even guess at them—taking away all of the fun.

You certainly cannot discredit the effort that Athale puts into Wasteland, particularly with the film’s visual flair and complicated storyline. Granted, the script is over-written and the attempt to get you to empathize with its characters is a failure. But at least the film comes out swinging for the fences, even if the result is merely a base hit. Athale shows his ability as a director in this debut, but perhaps different source material would generate better results.

Wasteland trailer:

British filmmaker Simon Aboud makes his full length debut as a director and writer of the indie film Comes a Bright Day. The film is a bizarre blend of genres when a romantic love story unfolds during a life threatening hostage situation. There was even some comedy sprinkle in. But the hodgepodge of themes felt exactly like that, a jumbled mixture of dissimilar themes that did not mix well.

Sam Smith (Craig Roberts) is hotel bellboy or as he describes it, a bag carrier and general bitch for the rich. One day his manager sends him on an errand that takes him to a jewelry store. Before he does that he makes a quick stop at a local café where he meets a girl named Mary Bright (Imogen Poots) who catches his eye. The two exchange a few words before leaving. It just so happens that the two would meet again in just a few short moments.

Upon entering the jewelry store he has already made up his mind that he would like to date her. Fate is on his side as she works at the jewelry store that he was sent to go to. But fate also had something else in store for him when two guys with guns show up to rob the place. Suddenly they become involved in a hostage situation.

The gunmen assumed that the robbery would be a quick smash and grab and did not take in account to be trapped inside the store surrounded by police. Now confined to the store they must come up with another plan. In the meantime, Sam and Mary continue to get to know one another despite the inopportune setting. Sam soon finds out that Mary is planning on leaving the country in less than a month, which assumes they make it out of this situation alive.

Although Craig Roberts plays a similar role to his character in Submarine, the performance did not match. His deadpan delivery and play-it-cool attitude did not work as well here. He never acted like his life was in danger unlike the rest of the cast who were way more believable (especially Imogen Poots). He just did not seem to fit properly in this film.

Where Comes a Bright Day shines the most is the camera work. The majority of the film was restricted to a single room which can be difficult to pull off. Aside from the limited setting, the film was impressive with presenting well composed shots. Production quality as a whole was the only area that the film was proficient in.

You have to appreciate Aboud’s bold attempt of making his first feature film that combines such different genres but it did not work as feature film. I think it would have been better suited to be condensed down into a short film. Comes a Bright Day had too many issues to be a film that can be recommend to watch. The one thing that the film did accomplish is that it showed Aboud does have potential as a director but Comes a Bright Day was perhaps just a bit too ambitious for the rookie filmmaker.