Tyrannosaur

2011, 18, Directed by Paddy Considine
Starring: Peter Mullan, Olivia Colman, Eddie Marsan, Stuart Bottomley

If the title mistakes you into believing that this film features plenty of spectacle involving paleontology, you will be forgiven – but only once you’ve endured this breathtaking and completely tragic character exploration into what people do when they are helplessly and hopelessly involved in awful situations. Here, Paddy Considine debuts his skills behind the camera with an extension of his short, Dog Altogether, which sees Peter Mullan’s Joseph – an angry, belligerent and extremely violent figure – collide with Olivia Colman’s softly-spoken, charity shop worker Hannah. Both appear direct opposites, but both are victims of circumstance; Joseph exerts his unnecessary rage onto his beloved dog, whereas Hannah contains understandable rage for reasons that should only be discovered on-screen. For a film that tackles domestic issues to an extreme nature, it is wholly commendable to Considine that he manages to ensure Tyrannosaur is not completely disparate of smiles, albeit weak ones that are directly followed by a not-so-metaphorical punch to the gut. 

Through his actors, he has crafted something that deserves to be witnessed the world over. Mullan, further proving his worth, is Joseph. For all of his violence and c-word spouting, the viewer – like Hannah – sees something special in the guy. Underneath the aggressive exterior, he means well, whether this means looking out for the friendly kid neighbour on the estate who is terrorised by the pitbull of his mother’s boyfriend, or the daily visits to a dying friend - Joseph has a heart. Colman, best known for her comedic chops in Peep Show and Green Wing, is best summed up by one word: sublime. She displays a performance that rivals that of Tilda Swinton in We Need to Talk about Kevin. Behind every action, emotion and word she utters, you feel precisely what it is Hannah conveys, despite the fact that the majority of us will thankfully never have the displeasure of experiencing the events she does. The ending may displease on a small scale for its admittedly rushed nature, but when a rarity like Tyrannosaur comes along, it hardly matters. Considine has found his true calling. Get excited.

5/5