By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.9
Director: Paddy Considine
Starring: Eddie Marsan | Ned Dennehy | Olivia Colman | Paul Popplewell | Peter Mullan
Country: united_kingdom
Year: 2012
Running time: 91
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1204340/
Ibad says: “There are many films that capture the bleak landscape of humanity, with an emphasis on the treatment of women, that come across as manipulative, misogynistic, forced, and/or sadistic. No such thing in TYRANNOSAUR. Although it doesn’t deliver on the title’s promise for dinosaurs, the film’s tone is as vicious and ferocious as the title would suggest (including in how the title ultimately functions in the narrative). Paddy Considine’s directing debut here is one of extraordinarily crisp vision, painting a portrait of a lifestyle and of a people so removed from the rest of popular society. It’s a world of grit, heartbreak, pain, screams, tension, cynicism, and dogs. Perhaps the greatest testament to his work, however, which is easily believed considering his own celebrated acting career, is the delicate touch he has with his already very capable performers. Peter Mullan’s career is celebrated in Europe but has gone long overlooked in the United States, though I think that may change later this year with a role more meaty than he’s ever sunk his teeth into before. It’s a man he very easily could have overplayed, but even his scenes of emotional outburst are painted with layers of subtlety and subtext that may very well not be topped by any performance for the rest of this year. Olivia Colman equals him in many scenes and offers a glimpse into the flipside, the nightmarish world of the middle class often kept hushed, including the many secrets she holds throughout the film. She’s a character who’s immediately gone through more than Mullan’s character at the hands of her frightening husband (Eddie Marsan, as good as he’s ever been short of HAPPY-GO-LUCKY). The ending is appropriately less bleak in offering closure to the film, yet never resolutely tying it conveniently with a bow nor offering a worldview any less pessimistic than it always had. By the end, people’s lives are dirt. And no matter what you do, they’re always going to be dirt. 4 1/2 cats”
Jason says: “Paddy Considine’s first feature as writer and director packs a wallop at both ends, and is pretty impressive in between as well. It’s absolutely the sort of movie an actor makes, with meaty roles for its stars to dive into and plenty of one-on-one time. It’s a pretty darn great actors’ movie, though it’s far from a carefree hour and a half.
“Joseph (Peter Mullan) is a man almost consumed by rage. We see three examples of it right off the bat, and it’s after the third one blows up in his face that he ducks into a charity shop to hide. The shop is being manned by Hannah (Olivia Colman), who approaches him with amazing calm and kindness. Cruelty surrounds them – Joseph’s best friend is dying of cancer, the boy who lives next door (Samuel Bottomley) is tormented by his mother’s boyfriend, and Olivia’s husband James (Eddie Marsan) is himself prone to expressing his jealousy in nasty ways.
“Cruel is perhaps the best way to describe the world in which Joseph, Hannah, and company live; idleness and lack of means don’t create the sort of situations that kill people, but rather the ones that chip away at their dignity and create a status quo that feels inescapable – even spending time with friends doesn’t seem to lift the spirits. Heck, the most joy seems to come during a funeral – one man’s suffering is over, and the other characters have a reason to dwell on happier times.
“Joseph isn’t the title character, although it’s not an unreasonable thing to initially assume. It doesn’t really fit, though – while
he can certainly summon a seemingly-unlimited amount of fury, it is not exactly effective fury – it doesn’t give him a fearsome reputation or give him power in the neighborhood. He’s not alone in that, though – anger and intimidation are visited on those who can’t defend themselves, with the tables threatening to turn very quickly when someone stronger comes along. The question, then, is whether Hannah’s faith and kindness is any more useful – does it just enable her victimhood or eventually confer real strength?
“Peter Mullan and Olivia Colman are terrific at conveying these alternate approaches to their characters’ lives. Mullan, naturally, gets the most obviously flashy bit, with several scenes at the very beginning showing Joseph as a rather rotten bully and his emotions plainly visible throughout. He’s just as good when toned down, it turns out, and there’s something kind of great about how his anger gives way to fear in some situations and how the audience can see Samuel nudging him toward acting like the man he wishes he was. Olivia Colman has the less showy but perhaps trickier entrance; she’s got to be restrained and friendly despite clearly being old enough to know such generosity will not likely be returned in kind. Colman has very little room for exaggeration in her performance, but never really gets near the point where the audience would find her unreal or unsympathetic. Together, they have a nice chemistry – their shared loneliness and despair does not manifest as romance, but an extremely wary connection that may not even become friendship.
“Considine does a nice job bringing this out and getting good work from the supporting cast as well. He’s had a little practice – Mulland and Colman appear to have played the same characters in a short Considine directed – but in some ways that makes the feature even more impressive: TYRANNOSAUR does not feel padded or burdened with excess characters and subplots, and the center of the film never feels like a way to separate the intense start and finish.
“The ends of the movie are going to stick out in one’s memory, of course, but not just for what happens. Even as Considine is
presenting new cruelties, he’s building a case for something other than simple cynicism, even redemption won’t come the usual way. 5 cats
“Seen 4 March 2012 in the Museum of Fine Arts Alfond Auditorium (Special Engagement, 35mm)”
Bruce says: “My first impression of TYRANNOSAUR was dead wrong. As the opening scenes unfold TRYANNOSAUR looks to be a new millennium kitchen sink drama – albeit a more angry and violent one than its predecessors – featuring horrifying acts of the uneducated non-working class in Britain. (I realize it’s a spoiler but there is dog killing involved – somewhat tastefully done all things considered – and viewers should be prepared. I recently had someone storm out of a screening of DOGTOOTH over the cat killing. Many people cannot tolerate any scenes of abuse; others cannot tolerate scenes of animal abuse in spite of being able to endure scenes of human torture and murder.)
“Peter Mullen has the role of a lifetime and his performance is brilliant as Joesph, an unemployed, rageaholic widower. Others cringe in his presence, avoiding contact whenever possible. After burying his dog Joseph storms into a bank with his abusive attitude. The bank teller says, ‘Don’t come here again.’ Out on the street he smashes a storefront display window. He enters a thrift shop and starts a conversation with Hannah (Olivia Colman), the woman who runs it. She seems unfazed by Joseph’s behavior. When she asks his name, he replies, ‘Robert de Niro.’ ‘Would you like a cup of tea then, Robert’ she retorts. Hannah views his arrival as a sign from God and she prays for him.
“What the viewer quickly learns is that Hannah comes from a middleclass neighborhood and is no stranger to rageaholic behavior. Her husband abuses her in every way possible: physically, emotionally, verbally and sexually. Slowly we learn that Hannah has not one but two coping devices, God and the bottle. After Joseph is severely beaten by boys in the neighborhood, he enters the thrift shop. ‘So what happened to you? Why did you come here?’ she asks. ‘I was just passing,’ he answers. ‘Do you want God to forgive you?’ she inquires. ‘I don’t want anything from that fuck,’ he counters. Comfort from a kindred soul is what he’s after.
“Later, when Hannah is brutally beaten, the situation is reversed. Realizing Hannah has nowhere to go Joseph offers her shelter. Hannah notices a picture of Joseph’s wife. ‘She was a simple lady…..with a naïve faith in people. All goodness, love. I thought she was dumb – she wasn’t. She was beautiful and I treated her like a dog.’ A different perception of Joseph is beginning to emerge. Joseph’s best friend dies; he and Hannah attend the funeral and go to the pub after. They almost seem like a real couple. Other surprises occur, making Joseph seem less mean and out of control in comparison to those around him. In the end Joseph emerges as a gentler version of his former self.
“The story is simple but the storytelling is visually rich and triumphant. Considine has a marvelous eye. His use of light is
exceptional as is his ability to define the environment his characters inhabit. Olivia Colman is wonderful in what must be a breakthrough role for her. Eddie Marsan furthers his reputation as one of the best character actors in the UK. 5 cats”
Diane says: “Acting noms, cinematography, direction. I particularly appreciated the framing of the shots, what is left outside of the frame. 5 cats from me too.”