Spall, one of Leigh's regular collaborators, said he was ideally cast as Turner because "he was a funny-looking, fat little man and so am I".

"Genius is not always in the most romantic of packages," the actor continued. "Most geniuses are strange and are often odd-looking sociopaths."

He said Turner was "slightly brutish - a man with love in his heart but not sure where to put it".

In addition to his paintings, the film deals with Turner's personal life and his relationships with women - among them his housekeeper, a Margate widow and two daughters he declines to acknowledge.

The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw said Mr Turner - one of 18 titles in contention for this year's Palme d'Or award - represented "another triumph"for Leigh and Spall.

"Every scene... is expertly managed; every comic line and funny moment adroitly presented and every performance given with intelligence and love," he said in his five-star review.

In his own five-star rave, The Telegraph's Robbie Collin said Spall "gives what's probably the finest performance in his career".

Spall, 57, also drew praisefrom Screen International's Jonathan Romney, who said he was "magnificent" in a film that "may be the most entertaining art biopic yet made".

The premiere of Leigh's film coincides with the issue of a set of Royal Mail stamps in which Secrets and Lies features alongside nine other British titles.

【2017戛纳电影节：《透纳先生》成夺奖热门】相关文章：

★ 古埃及小学生竟也有家庭作业！1800年前的课文写了啥？

★ 研究发现，临终关怀在美国和加拿大各不相同

★ 国外罂粟花季到 绽放盛景美不胜收

★ 和娜塔丽波特曼同校是什么感觉？

★ 吃饭的时候刷手机?你就等着变胖吧

★ BBC推荐：第72届戛纳电影节必看影片

★ 五招帮你减少室内毒害

★ 有一种抑郁叫笑着抑郁

★ 欧洲毒黄瓜引恐慌 污染来源还在调查中

★ 关于樱花你可能不知道的10件事