Dir: Paddy Considine
Starring: Peter
Mullan, Olivia Coleman, Eddie Marsan
British actor Paddy Considine
turns director as he adapts his Bafta winning short Dog Altogether into a full length film. Peter Mullan plays Joseph,
a widower who struggles to keep his violent actions in check. Joseph meets
Hannah while hiding in her charity shop, a woman who is abused by her husband
but who retreats from her life with a combination of Christianity and alcohol.
Considine’s
film is a tough watch. It has scenes of violence against both humans and
animals and domestic abuse. The characters live in a world of violence, one in
which they cannot break out of. However, it is a very real life in which some
people find themselves. The violence is never done for the sake of violence; it
lies over the film, affecting all the lives of those who live in the area.
Violence is the binder that brings the characters together and connects them.
Joseph is a violent person, angry at the world and everyone in it. He tries to
push it down but it’s all he knows, it’s his way of acting out at a world he
finds has turned against him. Hannah, a woman who lives in the affluent area of
the town, finds herself trapped in a violent relationship, unable to leave but torn
apart by her current existence. The film is held by the relationship between
Hannah and Joseph. Hannah is just looking for help and kindness, a believer
that everyone has kindness in them. Joseph is a man who admits he is horrible
and is reluctant to let anyone close to him, but he is also capable of
compassion. Scenes in which he keeps visits his friend dying of cancer and
looks out for the young child next door help round out the character. Their
relationship never becomes saccharine or clichéd and the film builds to a
believable conclusion.
Considine uses his previous film
experience to bring out wonderful performances from his cast. The film is a
master class in acting with Olivia Coleman being as good as everyone has said,
her Hannah bearing the terrible fear and pain of being in an abusive
relationship but having to hide it in her everyday life. Peter Mullan displays
Joseph’s torn personality; a violent man who struggles to keep his actions in
check but is also has the capacity for great empathy. Eddie Marsan’s
performance has been unfairly overlooked for praise, as he expertly plays the
abusive James, a man who could believably exist in polite society, someone you
could live next to and not suspect a thing. With one hand action he conveys a
sense of dread more strongly than any horror film out this year.
If you
can handle its bleak violence and subject matter you’ll find a powerful film with
some great performances. Tyrannosaur is
one of the best British films of the year and it marks Considine as a new
talented filmmaker.
4 out of 5 Buttons
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