Films: Tyrannosaur

Tyrannosaur

United Kingdom, 2010, 93 Minute Running Time
Genre/Subjects: Crime, Drama, Family Issues, Religious, Social Issues
Program: Contemporary World Cinema
Language: English

DIRECTOR: Paddy Considine
Producer: Diarmid Scrimshaw
Editor: Pia di Ciaula
Screenwriter: Paddy Considine
Cinematographer: Erik Wilson
Principal Cast: Peter Mullan, Olivia Colman, Eddie Marsan

In actor Paddy Considine’s impressive filmmaking debut, we meet Joseph, a lonely widower, as he wanders in and out of the pubs in Leeds. An angry drunk with a penchant for violence, Joseph lashes out fatally at his own dog, an act that’s all the more tragic when he realizes it was his only true friend. When Joseph meets Hannah, a practicing Christian working at a charity shop, she appears a savior. But Hannah has demons of her own, stuck in an abusive relationship with a husband whose temperament exceeds even Joseph’s. Still, in one another, Hannah and Joseph find a source of comfort amid a dreary existence. 

Known for his roles in such films as In America, The Bourne Ultimatum, and Cinderella Man, Considine goes behind the lens to deliver a gritty character-driven drama marked by stellar performances. Peter Mullan gives a tour de force as Joseph, initially despicable yet ultimately heartbreaking as he staggers toward redemption. Olivia Colman, as the vulnerable and sweet Hannah, offers a perfect counterbalance to the enraged men in her life. Based on Considine’s 2007 short, Dog Altogether, Tyrannosaur engages one’s sympathies on the deepest level.
—MATTHEW CAMPBELL

You might also enjoy...

• 

  Attenberg

  Greece , 2010 , 95 min. In a small, industrial Greek town, Marina is finally ready to undergo a sexual awakening at the age of 23. Thus unfolds the human experience in Attenberg, Athina Rachel Tsangari’s quirky, tongue-in-cheek drama about sex, death, and synchronized dancing.... more
• 

  Brothers

  Finland , 2011 , 90 min. Finnish director Mika Kaurismäki uses The Brothers Karamazov as his model and a stormy family reunion as a platform for this tale of three emotionally damaged brothers who confront their wolfish, boozy old father with his past sins—even as they're eating his 70th birthday cake.... more
• 

  Curling

  Canada , 2010 , 96 min. Denis Côte’s chilling drama is set on the frozen plains of Québec, where Jean-François Sauvageau protects his preteen daughter, Julyvonne, from the world outside by isolating her. But both have their secrets, and if Jean-François doesn’t face the world he so fears, he may lose Julyvonne forever.... more
• 

  Dance Town

  South Korea , 2010 , 95 min. The final installment of Korean writer-director Jeon Kyu-hwan’s Town Trilogy, Dance Town tells the story of a couple defecting to South Korea. When Man-il is caught and detained by authorities, his wife escapes alone; she tries to start life anew.... more
• 

  Shame

  United Kingdom , 2011 , 99 min. Handsome matinee idol Michael Fassbender portrays a helpless Manhattan sex addict in director Steve McQueen's disturbing (and unblinkingly graphic) study of a man being destroyed by his own desire. Carey Mulligan is his needy sister, who comes complete with some serious baggage of her own.... more