Tyrannosaur is the debut directorial & written film by actor Paddy Considine. Set in The Midlands in around the same environment that Considine grew up in although its in no way meant to be autobiograhical. The film stars actors 'Peter Mullan' & 'Eddie Marsden' as well as a breakthrough performance from actress 'Olivia Colman'. The film follows Mullan's character Joseph, an unenployed widowed man who suffers fits of rage. After killing his dog with anger he decides to try and change his life.
The film itself is really hard to watch right from the start. Within a minute Joseph has killed his dog, and the film gets no easier to watch. Paddy Considine has won a BAFTA award for outstanding debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer, and having seen 2 of the others that he was up against, and knowing alot of another I find it hard to see how any other film could have come close.
Through all of the misery that the movie holds there are some really poignant moments and performances. While Joseph is presented as a horrible character, the audience can easilly see that there is a sense of a caring but brooding man who appreciates his friends. Even after he has kicked his dog, the shots of him holding the dog as it dies and talking to a neighbourhood boy about the dog presents him as more than just a stone cold bastard. By the end of the film I had no idea whether i felt for the character or really hated him.But I can safely say I was mildly disturbed by the characters diologue and actions.
There is nothing more suprising about the film than Olivia Coleman's performance as christian charity shop owner Hannah. I think this is the 1st serious performance I have ever seen her in. Part of it frustrates me as through years of watching her on 'Peep Show' and 'Green Wing' I never knew she could pull off such an amazing performance. The character is so quiet and sullen as we watch her live her day to day life, Find it hard to be around her husband and try to run her shop (an especially poignant scene takes place in which she meets Joseph and prays for him in her shop). So it's especially hard for the audience to see her stable life that she's built up being torn apart by her abusive husband and her meeting with Joseph. Hannah's character goes through alot in the film with fear, sadness and anger being key emotions within the character. Introducing Hannah with such an ordinary backstory the film makes me think about the backstories of ordinary real people I pass on the street and really makes me aware about how horrible some people's lives are. Colman has a knockout performance with this film and frankly it's a crime that it was so overlooked by the main awards this year.
Although alot of the film is gut wrenchingly misreable and hard to watch, some really lovely scenes take place. A beautiful funeral scene at the pub where we can see Joseph in his home territory with people who care about him alot. It's also one of the only times we see Colman's character smile, the scene is beautifully woven together with a guitar song performed by one of the funeral attendees and edited to perfection. Some of the conversations between Hannah and Joseph are beautifully written and performed, one of the best being that about the nickname "Tyrannosaur," for Joseph's dead wife. For these lovely scenes I tip my hat to Considine.
The film is incredibly hard to watch. This would bring it down in my rating of the film, but in no way makes me appreciate how fantastic a film it is....But I'm just not in a rush to watch it again.
Top Tip- If your hate for an hard-to-watch film outweighs your love for a fantastic film. Don't watch it
Film Rating 8.5/10
Olivia Colman Rating 10/10
'How pissed off I am at how no-one thought to cast Olivia Colman as a Leading lady before' Rating 15/10
