This is not an historic document but instead a more impressionist portrait of the great but troubled artist who is attributed as being a formative part of the baroque movement. Jarman was restricted by a very tight budget, having understood for almost a decade that it was going to be a big budget made available. Needs must and against all the odds he has fashioned a vivid and colourful picture of the painter including the creation of remarkable tableaux of model that seem to perfectly mirror the finished paintings we know. Dexter Fletcher plays the young version of the painter and a mesmerising performance it is too. He would make many more films, if not all as prestigious, before moving into directing with Rocketman his latest. Tilda Swinton makes her feature film debut here and she too excels before, of course, moving on to very much more. So, Jarman has to make do with a warehouse in Limehouse instead of the streets of Italy but surely couldn't have done a better job.