Tyrannosaur Review

With every passing year, each franchise sequel is promised to be ‘darker’ than its predecessor. Harry Potter, Batman, Spider-man, Twilight, etc, all make promises about their increasing darkness, that if they were actually true, we’d all have been watching blacked out screens with just the audio track playing long ago. Pah. Those films aren’t ‘dark’.Tyrannosaur is ‘dark’. Tyrannosaur is grim. Proper grim. It’s the kind of film where you end up rooting for its main character only because he’s somewhat less of a total bastard than other characters in it. The kind of film where we are introduced to said main character by him viciously kicking his dog to death. It’s a credit to both Peter Mullan’s powerful performance and Paddy Considine’s script that we do eventually sympathise with Joseph, a cantankerous and violent old stick, who hates the world and almost everyone in it.

Following a few acts of vandalism and assault, Joe takes refuge in Olivia Colman’s charity shop. Colman plays Hannah, an earnest Christian woman, who at first appears normal, but is slowly revealed to be as troubled as Joe. The pair begin a tentative friendship through which you might expect each to find redemption; and they do, in a manner of speaking, though not before some surprising and unpleasant twists and turns.

As well as writing the script, Tyrannosaur is Considine’s first full length directorial effort too. You would think he’s been at it for years; such is the confident and dignified air the film exudes.Tyrannosaur is reminiscent of his cohort Shane Meadows’ flicks, which is no bad thing. There’s also the visual articulation of social realists Ken Loach or Mike Leigh. Being one of Britain’s best actors, it’s a shame Considine does not elect to get in front of the lens as well, but he clearly knows how to get the best out of those he is filming. Mullan (who has appeared in almost every half-decent British film in the last twenty odd years) and Colman (whose comedic talents are well known from her role in TV’s Peep Show – she doesn’t really have cause to utilise them here though) both give truly excellent performances. Eddie Marsan too is simply brilliant as James, Hannah’s utterly despicable husband (if you thought Joe’s introductory scene was bad…). In a career that has seen Marsan play more than a couple of bad eggs, James may just be the worst of the bunch.

You could perhaps criticise Tyrannosaur perhaps for throwing too much doom and gloom at the screen – you’ll have to endure animal abuse, domestic violence, alcoholism, racism, assault, cancer, death and child abuse – but whether you can stand all that is really a personal choice rather than an indicator of the film’s quality.

Personally, I thought it was excellent. Tyrannosaur has already picked up a clutch of awards at various film festivals, all of which are thoroughly deserved. Considine long ago proved himself to be a most impressive actor; he’s now demonstrated that he can both write and direct with finesse too. Some guys get all the luck.