It feels as though Mr Turner has been around forever. It premiered in competition for the Palme d'Or at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival with Timothy Spall winning best actor for his portrayal of eccentric British painter J.M.W Turner. Now, the movie receives a full UK cinematic release and, quite rightly, it's been talked up in Oscars circles.

Timothy Spall Mr TurnerTimothy Spall plays J.M.W Turner in Mike Leigh's masterpiece

The movie, directed by the acclaimed Mike Leigh, explores the last 25 years of Turner's life and how his wellbeing was profoundly affected by the death of his father. Turner formed a close relationship with a seaside landlady with whom he eventually leaves with in Chelsea, the place of his death. However, throughout those latter years, Turner travelled, painted, visited brothels and became an anarchic member of the Royal Academy of Arts. 

More: Mike Leigh's 'Mr Turner' gets 5-star reviews at Cannes

Spall is superb as the artist - his finest role to date and proof (if we ever needed it) that the Battersea-born actor is among the top rung of actors on the planet.

"Timothy Spall - best known to mainstream audiences as Wormtail in the Harry Potter series - delivers an Oscar-caliber tour de force reminiscent of Charles Laughton," wrote Lou Lumenick in the New York Post.

Mr TurnerMr Turner looks beautiful on-screen

"Spall's repertoire of grunts, each one with its own distinct meaning, comfortably extends past a hundred, and you wonder if he went Method for the role, living for years in a sty until he got the voice, posture and smell just right," said Robbie Collin of the Telegraph.

"Mike Leigh's biopic of JMW Turner is a rambling, richly detailed character study with a magnificent central performance from Timothy Spall," said Geoffrey McNab of the Independent.

More: Will Mike Leigh's masterpiece land Timothy Spall his Oscar?

"Mike Leigh's reputation as an unrivaled inventor of cinematic dramaturgy once again over-delivers on his promise. How, you might ask, is that possible. Such is the nature of Mike Leigh's incomprehensible genius," wrote Cole Smithey.

Spall remains a 20/1 outside to win Best Actor at the Oscars, but if we discount Michael Keaton given the avant-garde nature of Birdman and Eddie Redmayne and Jack O'Connell for being too young then the British actor has it won, doesn't he?

Watch the 'Mr Turner' trailer: