Tyrannosaur - Eine Liebesgeschichte

Paddy Considine's directorial debut has been a widely anticipated event. With his excellent performances throughout his British cinematic career, most notably his work with Shane Meadows, a dark, churning piece of cinema was what we have been expecting.

We have not been let down. Tyrannosaur is as gritty as it is gripping. The setting in a Northern industrial, working class community – the estates of Leeds, creates the imprisoned physical environment for Joseph (Peter Mullen) an alcoholic, self-loathing widower who meets a Christian charity worker (Olivia Coleman) and we are drawn into their troublesome worlds.

The films workings of violence and desperation draws another influence to my mind, which is Gary Oldman's directorial debut 'Nil by Mouth'. Both are lavished in gritty, deglamorised violence. Both have a tendency to stare the darkness in the eye, unlike some audience members (including myself) that will have an undeniable urge to look away. It's a representation of life on the underside, where it often is difficult, dark, testing and sometimes evil in its twists of fate.

The film has a strong link to animalistic representations, an element to which instantly brought Andrea Arnolds award winning short film 'Dog' to mind. The idea of trapped animals and the capabilities of those pushed too far is a powerful and dominating theme.

Needless to say the challenging viewing nature of this film forms the base of its appeal. Its unflinching and unapologetic brutality could be deemed too prosaic for the majority of mainstream cinema goers. You will need to be ready for the challenge to fully take in and be moved by the film, it's not one to watch on a Sunday morning, put it that way.

The direction and acting are the notables in this production. Most notably Olivia Coleman, whose supporting role threatens to overshadow that of Mullen's, if it wasn't for his own exceptional performance. Mullen portrays Joseph in such a way that despite his loathsome qualities he remains human and even relatable, at times when other characters don't.

But it is Coleman's character and performance that really underpins and illuminates the rest of the feature. Her character is an almost polarised opposite in comparison with Joseph however as the plot turns we are exposed to an array of character transformations. It is these that actually help support the minimalistic plot which allows us to focus and be consumed by these iridescent performances.

Considine has excelled himself in his writing and direction, with very few criticisms that could be levelled at each, other than those looking to nit-pick. Whilst somewhat preoccupied with the grim and depressive side of the characters, the film triumphs as it chase's the ray of light at the end of the tunnel. For all its depressing and challenging nature it mirrors the lives it portrays and the personal struggles of the characters, as they keep pushing and fighting. An excellent first feature from Considine and I personally cannot wait for his next offering.

I will keep this simple.

It has been quite a while since a movie has shook me to my very core, rattled my sense of security, and left me deeply scarred when I got out of the theater.

Tyrannosaur for me personally is one of the best movies of the year. The year's not over, and it may as well hold a top 3 spot on my list until the end.

First and foremost, the acting in this movie was outstanding. Mullan, Colman was incredible as the two forces that move the movie. Marsan was genuinely terrifying. These three people should be considered for Oscars when the time comes.

There were a few moments where I almost...almost turned my head away, and not many movies can claim the privilege of making me squirm and feel uneasy (Not even the fairly recent "A Serbian Film").

I guess the strongest strength of this movie was the uncanny sense of realism. I've spent enough time learning and observing just what emotions and bursts of rage can do to people. And every bit of rage and anger in this movie seemed all too real. I'm sure some will counter me on this, but for me, I didn't consider any actions, reactions in this movie to be over-the-top. They flowed seamlessly, taking us to bleak, dark places, sprinkling a bit of hope and light along the way, only for us to be shocked again. By god, it was VERY suspenseful in some parts.

In the end, a few hours after getting out of the screening, I'm still reeling trying to find my composure. No, it's not an easy movie to watch, and yes, some will probably dismiss it as an unnecessary glorification of domestic violence and brutality. But for me it's more than that, it has soul, one that's not easy to capture with a subject as difficult as this, but Considine certainly managed to do just that.

Watch it if you get a chance.

9.5/10

Tyrannosaur, on first viewing, immediately brings to mind another directorial debut by an acclaimed actor, namely Gary Oldman's Nil By Mouth. The crisis of masculinity, the victimisation of women in domestic settings, incremental brutalisation of children, and penchant for violence among certain kinds of weak-willed men are all overlapping themes. The graphic representation of these themes in visual terms is also common to both films. And finally, both contain outstanding performances from their cast.

But writer/director Paddy Considine brings his own stamp to this project in his bold portrayal of an odd couple fleetingly driven together in extreme circumstances. Joseph is a self-loathing, hard-drinking loner, haunted by past failures, particularly in regard to his wife, whom he hit. He tries to make up for his character failings with displays of loyalty to a dying friend. It smacks of too little too late.

Hannah is a devout Christian who works in a Charity Shop during the day, and enjoys a large glass of rioja at night. Her faith is built on less stable foundations than Joseph assumes when they first meet. His attack on her character may well prove to be the last abusive act of his life, such is the scale of regret it will bring in the long-term.

Peter Mullan as Joseph is convincingly lost, playing a character removed by only a few degrees from the father he portrays in Neds. Olivia Colman is simply immense as Hannah, a brittle front easily broached by Joseph's bile, unleashing a fear and unhinged reaction that even the volatile Joseph struggles to comprehend. In between there is a touching vulnerability and unnerving humanity. Eddie Marsan, as the depraved James, once again proves why he is fast becoming Britain's preeminent character actor.

This is character-driven social realist film-making to a certain extent, though there is a prominent three-act structure, exhibited more than in most films of the type, including a quite shocking but satisfying 'surprise' at the end. Tyrannosaur forces you to think about how we treat each other, and about the lives unraveling around us that we choose to turn a blind eye to. A mature debut from Considine, who sets a very high bar for himself.

2011 hasn't been a great year for movies. In fact I'm struggling to think of a film that has blown me away but just as you start lose faith a film comes along that knocks you bandy. Tyrannosaur is that film.

This is a grim film. Grim in every way but where there is despair there is always a chink of light and Tyrannosaur is all about that little chink of light.

Joseph is an angry man . A very angry man. A man who's life is not good. When he's life is at it's worst he accidentally comes across a good Samaritan in Hannah who see's the good in people yet in reality is having a far worse time than Joseph.

I have to say that the performance of Olivia Colman has to be the best i have seen by any actor this year. A quite stunning portrayal of a battered woman who has nothing good in her life yet always has a smile for someone. Peter Mullan is fantastic also and it goes without saying that Eddie Marsden is brilliant.

Writer and director Paddy Constantine should be proud of what he has done here and i cant recommend this film highly enough and if this does not pick up awards in the new year then there is no justice.

Recently Hollywood and the various film industries across the globe have seen an upsurge in the amount of on-screen performers who are taking a break from acting in front of the camera to instead take control from behind it. Paddy Considine, the star of 'This is England' and 'Dead Man's Shoes,' is now a member of this increasingly growing club with his first feature-film debut 'Tyrannosaur'. Written and Directed by Considine, this is an uncompromising debut film from the former photographer, which examines the destructive effects of violence and aggressive behaviour on the lives of two different individuals who are drawn together through their developing friendship.

Joseph (Peter Mullan) is a lonely, cynical, and belligerent working class man. He spends his days drinking alone in the Pub and gambling in the local bookmakers where his only friends reside. Violent and abusive outbursts govern his existence thereby creating a solitary creature who acts on instinct rather than reasoning. However, Joseph's life changes when he meets and befriends Hannah (Olivia Colman), a local Christian woman who is constantly being verbally and physically abused by her sadistic husband James (Eddie Marsan). Both tortured souls, they find solace in each other's lives and develop a friendship which transcends their misgivings.

'Tyrannosaur' is an uncompromising, and at times, difficult film to watch as the characters' lives are laid bare for the whole audience to observe. Joseph responds to problematic situations through the use of his fists, while Hannah simply acts out of fear and denial. Both Peter Mullan and Olivia Colman give fantastic performances; Mullan is initially a brutish, vagrant looking male who can't naturally become entwined in society, but as the film develops, empathy begins to grow for a man who accepts his short-comings and the fact that he may never be able to overcome them. With humanity arising slowly from his dishevelled face through his relationship with the young, neighbourhood boy Sam (Samuel Bottomley).

While Colman's striking performance, which is far-cry away from her role on the hit British comedy series 'Peep Show,' shows a woman who is conflicted in all manner of her beliefs. Her religious beliefs give her the naivety to believe that her husband can change, while her heart knows that he will only stop hurting her when her beatings become fatal. This is most notable in the scene where James breaks down in tears at her feet after striking out at Hannah, as she cradles his head he constantly professes his love for her repeating the phrase "it won't happen again, you know it won't happen again." Hannah constantly reaffirms his worries saying that she does love him, but as she lowers his head, the camera observes her changing emotions as the audience is shown that Hannah is clearly not a woman in love with James, but instead she is simply afraid of him.

Considine's first directorial effort is certainly a competent effort, he never attempts to direct the audience's attention too far from the script or the two central performances at hand, but this itself is the film's primary flaw. While it is captivating and emotionally unsettling, it is also a narrative which is not uncommon in modern British cinema (or known to some as 'miserable British cinema'), and it portrays the same judgements and ideals as many of its predecessors did before without providing anything new to the sub-genre at hand, especially in the culmination of the sub-plot involving the young boy Sam and his neglectful mother and boyfriend.

Despite its unoriginality in the narrative's conclusive mediation, the film still manages to evoke a strong emotional response from the viewer through its combination of horrifying visuals and fragile performances from the two lead British actors, as Paddy Considine begins his feature film journey with a solid and respectable character portrait of two broken individuals.