Starring: Peter Mullan, Olivia Colman, Eddie Marsan, Paul Popplewell
Director: Paddy Considine
Rating: 4/5
Paddy Considine has been one of the best Brit actors working in movie for many years now but with this new project we see him take the reins as he makes his directorial debut.
It’s hard to believe that this is a debut as it such a stunning piece of work from both a film and screenplay perspective - yes he penned the script as well.
Joseph (Mullan) is an unemployed widower, drinker, and a man crippled by his own volatile temperament and furious anger.
Hannah (Colman) is a Christian worker at a charity shop, a respectable woman who appears wholesome and happy.
When the pair are brought together, Hannah appears as Joseph’s potential saviour, someone who can temper his fury and offer him warmth, kindness and acceptance.
As their story develops Hannah’s own secrets are revealed - her relationship with husband James (Marsan) is violent and abusive - and as events spiral out of control, Joseph becomes her source of succour and comfort.
Without a doubt this is a hard watch as Considine doesn’t shy away from the more brutal aspect of the story.
But it is the performance of the central actors Peter Mullan and Olivia Colman than really bring this movie to life as they have a really beautiful relationship on screen.
This is a great character study that looks at the effects that violence can have on us - inwardly in the case of Joseph and at the hands of others for Hannah.
But most of all the movie delivers a message that we shouldn’t make judgements and presumptions about people and their lives before we get to know them. Both characters find themselves doing just that only to discover that they are souls intertwined and need one another.
Colman is superb many will know her best for her comedic roles in the likes of The Peep Show but she shows off a whole new side this emotional and tortured role.
This is brutal and electrifying as well as charming and heartfelt and there is something so genuine about that central relationship and this movie is an absolute must see.
If Considine can produce this great a movie for his debut then he has a very promising career in the director’s chair.
Tyrannosaur is out now
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Tagged in Tyrannosaur