Friday, May 4, 2012

A Film Like a Migraine, But One You Can Appreciate

Film: Tyrannosaur
Year: 2011
Written and directed by: Paddy Considine
Starring: Peter Mullan, Olivia Colman, Eddie Marsan, Paul Popplewell, Ned Dennehy, Samuel Bottomley, Sally Carman, Sian Breckin.
Running time: 92 min.
This film will be released on DVD by Madman Entertainment on June 14th in New Zealand.

Let me be straightforward from the get-go: Tyrannosaur is not a feel good movie. It is not the kind that one can easily crack the faintest of smiles at. I've heard it said many times before that the cheeriest scene in this movie is a funeral scene. Which is absolutely true. This film is exactly like a cracking migraine. It crushes your brain for the entire time, leaving you completely still and transfixed on the screen as if the slightest movement could make the migraine worse. Your eyes are forced to see things they don't want to see, and they want to shift out of focus so that things don't turn out so bad. While the film is heaving this mass amount of pressure onto your head that ensures the most uncomfortable viewing ever, it rips your heart out and holds it in this dark cube, where happiness is about ten planets away. Tyrannosaur may be capable of all of those different, horrible feelings, but I can promise that it is a very good film. It isn't the kind that you can easily sum up as being a "film that I enjoyed". It is a film that I "endured and appreciated".


Despite the title, this film isn't about dinosaurs. Instead, it starts with Joseph (Peter Mullan), a man with a violent heart, who kicks his dog to death outside a bar. After this fatal fit of rage he feels remorseful for what he did, realising that he has killed his only friend. He's a man searching for a companion, but ultimately letting his violent side take hold more often than not. However, he comes across Christian charity shop worker Hannah (Olivia Colman), who he sees as his only chance of redemption. On the outside, Hannah appears to live a very comfortable life with a nice house and a nice car, and also a fairly successful husband, James (Eddie Marsan). However, on the inside she lives a very troubled life, which is mostly because of her husband, who also has violent tendencies like Joseph. She forms an uneasy bond with Joseph, though, and while he is trying to let his violent heart fade away, the uncovering of Hannah's reality threatens to have a resounding effect on everyone involved.


Paddy Considine's feature directorial debut, based on his BAFTA winning short film Dog Altogether, is one that packs one hell of a punch - right in the gut, where it hurts the most. The content is not for the faint-hearted: there's killing of animals, a disturbing rape scene and a ton of disgusting and vulgar behaviour towards women and children. Basically, it is an unfortunately grisly reality brought to the fore, which most people don't want to see on screen. New Zealand is one of the worst developed countries for domestic violence, which was shown in screen by a 1994 film called Once Were Warriors. Tyrannosaur very much reminded me of Britain's answer to that film, rendering the exact same emotions out of me that the traumatised 13 year old me witnessed in 2008. Both films were made with the intention of not softening anything up, not offering any sentimentality and least of all, any hope. They were straight-forward in depicting the violence and misogyny that has a way of taking over someone's sense of being. Considine directs his film with blood-curdling simplicity, never looking at the 'big picture', but focussing on the anger inside his characters. It is here that you see the cracks and the flaws. It may be a dark film, but the product isn't all black-and-white. This film is rich with the colours that make a human being unleash violence upon another human being. Colours that we wish we couldn't see, but are there as cruel reminders of how low people can really go.


Tyrannosaur would be nothing without the amazing performances from Mullan, Colman and Marsan. Mullan has always been an great screen presence, but he really shines in the lead role. He plays Joseph with frightening intensity, shown from the first scene with that shocking act. He just has to give one look, and you know that he isn't the kind of man who would rather talk out his problems. He's the kind that you wouldn't want to be around, since he wouldn't hesitate to use anything around him as a weapon. Still, despite the fact that he uses violence as a bubble, you can tell that there's a fractured soul seeking redemption inside of him, which was brought to magnificent life by Mullan. Marsan also plays a man who is plagued by a violent heart, but his version of violence is a way of feeling empowered, especially over his wife. After this film, I can't look at Marsan in the same way. His presence in this sickened me, literally to the point where I was almost about to throw up. But it was Colman, whose Hannah was at the centre of the film battling with Joseph and James' violent tendencies, who shone the most. You may have heard many people crying snub over Colman's omission from the BAFTA's. I can tell you, she should have won the Oscar for Best Actress. Where Meryl Streep won points for her outstanding mimicry of Margaret Thatcher, Colman matched her efforts with an intense bravery and ability to show a woman pushed to the edge without over-doing it. Her performance was stunning; nothing short of heart-wrenching, especially when she reaches boiling point.


The only niggle I really had with the movie was the end, which didn't offer the impact that the rest of the film did. It kind of just...seemed like someone throwing a bucket of water on a fire so it would go out really quickly. Otherwise, Tyrannosaur is a really good, sometimes great debut by Paddy Considine, who might just become one of the big names in directing. Just don't expect to enjoy this film. You may wanna take a panadol straight after.

What I got:

20 comments:

  1. Can't wait to see this when it comes out in June.

    Hope this doesn't sound weird, but I have a special appreciation for films that depict violence, rape and sex explicitly (without being over-the-top). They're almost liberating in comparison with today's censorship. Probably why I love films like Irreversible and Antichrist so much. Is not that I take pleasure in the violence, not at all, more that I appreciate that the filmmaker dares to use it to make a point.

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    1. I think I'm the same way. I like films that challenge me, so long as they do so successfully. I loved Tyrannosaur though it's also, more so than Irreversible or Antichrist, a film I'm content to just tuck away into the back of my mind not to have to think too much more about. Those other two are more stylized that it gives you a bit of a distance that Tyrannosaur doesn't.

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    2. I actually agree with you. I do appreciate that sort of thing.

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  2. stunning writeup Stevee. I've only recently found your blog after you guested on Kid in the Front Row but can consider myself a loyal avid reader now. I reveiwed this earlier in the year and I can tell you it was a very difficult thing to see in the cinema, alone. I was positively squirming in my seat.
    Your comment about the ending and water bucket analogy was bang-on the money too.

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    1. Thanks! I'm glad you're sticking around!
      I'm quite glad I didn't see this in cinemas, that would have been quite an experience. I did have to turn away a few times, though.

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  3. Great review. This film almost made my top 10 of last year. Peter Mullan was "best-in-show" for me though. The ending really was a let-down.

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    1. Peter Mullan was absolutely brilliant in this! And yes, unfortunately the ending was a let-down. I wish they added a bit to it.

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  4. I like your notion of enduring and appreciating this film rather than enjoying it. I couldn’t agree more. I actually thought Tyrannosaur was one of the best films released last year, but you’re right, it is far from an easy watch. I was wholly impressed with the three main cast members, and by Considine's balls-out approach to the material.

    I actually agree with Tyler… if a film is going to show violence and rape, then it should do it honestly, which Tyrannosaur does, and then some.

    This is an excellent review of a criminally ignored film. Well done.

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    1. I think this is one of my favourites of 2011, too. I was definitely impressed by it.

      And yes, Tyrannosaur does do the rape and violence honestly.

      Thanks!

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  5. I've got this in my instant queue on Netflix, I'm glad you said something about the dog part. I'm fast forwarding through that. Wuss, party of one.

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    1. The first dog scene isn't shown on screen (thank the lord), but there is a graphic dog-related scene towards the end. It is not for the faint hearted!

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  6. I haven't managed to catch up with a few of the relevant 2011 releases yet, and 'Tyrannosaur' is still in its place on my watchlist for now, but I'm really looking forward to finally giving it a go. Judging from your review (very well-written, by the way), it sounds like a rough ride, but I was already expecting something of the kind ever since I caught a trailer of the film a couple of times during a few of my ventures at the local cinema.

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    1. It is a rough ride, but totally worth it. I hope that you like it!

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  7. Tyrannosaur is probably one of the best British movies in the last couple of decades, if not, ever. I am really glad you liked and I loved your review, you understood it perfectly. I had the chance to watch the movie in cinemas and it was followed by Q&A with Colman and Considine- Olivia is such a warm, fragile person and Paddy is a wonderful, straightforward man. Check it out if you're interested (February posts).

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    1. I did check that out while I was writing my review. You're so lucky to have gone to that!

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  8. Hmm seems like a interesting but not easy to watch film

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  9. Been hearing some good things about this movie although it went a bit overlooked at the end of last year. Glad you liked it Stevee, I'm going to give it a rental.

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    1. It definitely did get overlooked. I hope you like it!

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  10. This was a terrific film from Paddy Considine...what a great effort behind the camera. I thought it was powerful, contemporary and moving with some powerhouse performances. You're right about the enjoyment of the film - it is difficult to watch but there's no denying its ferocious ability to get under your skin.

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You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.

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