Monday, February 13, 2012

Tyrannosaur (2011)

Tyrannosaur (2011)
Tyrannosaur (2011)

Best New Film
Genre: Drama
Director: Paddy Considine
Starring: Peter Mullan, Olivia Colman, Eddie Marsan
Language: English
Duration: 91 min.
Rating: 8.2  

Summary:
Joseph is an unemployed widower with a drinking problem, a man crippled by his own volatile temperament and furious anger. Hannah is a Christian charity shop worker, a respectable woman who seems wholesome and happy. When circumstance brings the pair together, Hannah appears as Joseph's guardian angel, tempering his fury and offering him warmth, kindness and acceptance. As their relationship develops, Hannah's own secrets are revealed - her husband is violent and abusive - and Joseph emerges as her unlikely savior.



Tyrannosaur is the directorial feature debut by British actor Paddy Considine, an expansion of his BAFTA award winning earlier short film Dog Altogether. It premiered at the 2011 Sundance International Film Festival, winning the World Cinema award for Directing, and Special Jury Prizes for the breakout performances of Peter Mullan and Olivia Colman.

To borrow a term I first learned from one of my most loyal readers and favorite bloggers D4, this film begins with one of the most viciously gut wrenching scar openers in recent memory. Joseph (Peter Mullan), is a man beset with a furious temper and upon leaving the bookies in an apparent fit of blind rage, he delivers a brutal and what turns out to be fatal, kick to the ribs of his own poor barking dog.

It's a brave directorial decision for Considine, risking the alienation of the audience to introduce his main character in this manner, revealing him as such a nasty and violent drunkard who deserves no sympathy. From there, this devastating film doesn't ever really become anything close to an easy watch, but it remains an immensely captivating one, guided by Considine's steady skillful hand which paints a grim hellish reality where his characters reside, and tells it with a mesmerizing series of long patient takes.

At the film's heart is some outstanding acting: from the ever impressive Mullan as a man constantly on the verge of losing it, but shown to be very much a product of his rotten environment, we may never be able to sympathize with him, but we do come to understand him; an astonishing Olivia Colman who displays some incredible emotional range as Hannah—a simple and fragile on the outside, but just as complex and even more tormented Christian charity-shop manager who meets Joseph by chance and eventually becomes a chance for his redemption; and the exceptional Eddie Marsan as Hannah's abusive husband James—the most despicable character of all, who will make your blood boil, and who gets his own fittingly revolting on-screen introduction.

This bleak story and it's setting aren't particularly unique for UK cinema, and some of its details aren't as well rounded as they could be, but with that acting, fully developed main characters, and remarkably confident direction for a first timer, Considine is able to finally muster a glimmer of hope and humanity from the ugly dreary proceedings. No, I won't be in a hurry to watch this again anytime soon, but I fully recommend it as a powerful film that marks a stellar debut and stands as one of the year's best.

Bonjour Tristesse

Tyrannosaur (2011)

Tyrannosaur (2011)

Tyrannosaur (2011)

Tyrannosaur (2011)

Tyrannosaur (2011)

Tyrannosaur (2011)

Tyrannosaur (2011)

Tyrannosaur (2011)

25 comments:

CastorTroy said...

Been hearing a lot of positive word of mouth about this movie and your review is the latest to praise it. I'll give it a rental to see what's going on ;)

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Yeah, often when a film is praised as much as this one was all last year, the luster wears off by the time I get to it, but not this time.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Yeah it is a hard watch but I do highly recommend it. I hope you get the opportunity soon.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

 I think it might have been handled better, but it was still an effective one. Let me know if you ever get the chance to see it.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Anytime my friend.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Yeah, it was a well deserved win!  I also can't wait to see what he comes up with next.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Haha.  He was made for the part.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Thanks Scott, I'm surprised you liked this one. Next step, Irreversible?

Michaël Parent said...

Wow! There's some sort of hype around this film... I bet it stands out as everyone claims it to be!

Stevee said...

Oh gosh, I really want to see this movie. I like a good hard watch every now and again. 

Hoi-Ming Ng said...

I think the ending of this film will make or break it for me.

G said...

Great film.....almost in my all time top 10

Lisa Thatcher said...

Gosh - this looks amazing. Thanks for a great post - and the intro to another great blog! I think the Brits do this pent up violence thing better than anyone. It looks bleak, but (although it sounds naive) breaking those cycles can only happen through the redemptive power of love. 

d_4 said...

That feels like such an honorable mention there, BT. Not sure what more to say but thank you!

This one has caught me in a weird spot. I know it's gonna be hard to sit through, but that already fascinates me. I'm in a do/don't situation with a heavy inclination towards do while I hope for the best. It just sounds very strong.

Diana said...

I completely agree with your last paragraph, it sums up everything perfectly. I loved the movie, too, especially the acting and the script. Paddy Considine is a great director and actor and I can't wait to see what he does next (did you see he won a BAFTA?)

The Angry Lurker said...

Peter Mullan plays angry well, I would want him to play me in a movie of my life if Brad Pitt wasn't available.....

FrontRoomCinema said...

I am super happy that you love this film BT. It is a hard watch but very worth the effort. Cool review

blahblahblahtoby said...

I thoroughly enjoyed this one myself.

Considine's direction taking cues from all the Shane Meadows films he's starred in and making them look tame and gimmicky in comparison.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Did you ever get the chance to check it out?

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Welcome back Toby!

This one was a nice surprise for me. Considine never really did much for me as an actor so I wasn't expecting much from it. But it turned out to be powerful stuff.

CastorTroy said...

Not yet :(

blahblahblahtoby said...

There's a certain level of expectation when I see him in a cast list but as far as I can remember he hasn't ever done anything to warrant that expectation. Good marketing of his brand perhaps?

He was enjoyable in Submarine subverting viewer expectations of his usual screen persona and he perfectly suited the mood of The Red Riding Trilogy but that's not exactly glowing praise is it.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

It was an interesting change of character he played in Submarine, but I was too annoyed with that film to really notice how good he was. Haven't seen Red Riding yet is it worth seeking out?

blahblahblahtoby said...

The three parts as a whole combine for a powerful and depressingly bleak piece of entertainment. I'm not sure how often I could watch it and I definitely wouldn't recommend only watcing one part as you lose a lot.

I think Scott Free own the movie rights but the adaptation seems to have been put on the back burner.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Hmm I might just have to look it up then.

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