Tyrannosaur (2011)

Joseph, a man plagued by violence and a rage that is driving him to self-destruction, earns a chance of redemption that appears in the form of Hannah, a Christian charity shop worker.

Director:

Paddy Considine

Writer:

Paddy Considine

Stars:

Peter Mullan, Archie Lal, Jag Sanghera

Won 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 20 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Mullan	...	Joseph
Archie Lal	...	Post Office Cashier
Jag Sanghera	...	Gurav
Mike Fearnley	...	Dan
Paul Conway	...	Terry
Lee Rufford	...	Paul
Olivia Colman	...	Hannah
Samuel Bottomley	...	Samuel
Sian Breckin	...	Kelly
Paul Popplewell	...	Bod
Eddie Marsan	...	James
Robin Butler	...	Jack
Sally Carman	...	Marie
Ned Dennehy	...	Tommy
Fiona Carnegie	...	Woman in Shop

Storyline

The story of Joseph, a man plagued by violence and a rage that is driving him to self-destruction. As Joseph's life spirals into turmoil, a chance at redemption appears in the form of Hannah, a Christian charity shop worker. Their relationship develops to reveal that Hannah is hiding a secret of her own with devastating consequences to both of their lives.

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Plot Keywords:

charity shop | beating | domestic violence | abuse | abused woman | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 October 2011 (Ireland)

Also Known As:

Tyrannosaur

Filming Locations:

Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,635, 20 November 2011, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$22,088, 11 March 2012

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warp X, Inflammable Films, Film4

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the early bar scene where Joseph is sitting alone talking to himself, the voice off screen saying, "Are you all right, Joseph?" belongs to director Paddy Considine, who said he was so taken in by Peter Mullan's performance that the question was totally spontaneous.

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Quotes

Hannah: God loves you. You're God's child.
Joseph: God ain't my fucking daddy, my daddy was a cunt. He knew he was a cunt. God still thinks he's God. No-one's told him otherwise.

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Crazy Credits

Preceding the end credits is the note: For Pauline

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Connections

References Braveheart (1995)

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Soundtracks

Sing All Our Cares Away
Written and Performed by Damien Dempsey
Produced by John Reynold

User Reviews

Very tough viewing, but worth it

This film is an exceptional, very challenging and thought-provoking piece of work. Viewing it, as I did, at a morning showing on opening day, however, is not to be recommended. Having said that, I am not sure when the optimum time for seeing this film would actually be.

There is a lot of very uncomfortable viewing here. The subject matter - such as it is - is very bleak, but, paradoxically, more life-affirming than depressing. That is to say, I looked at the majority of the characters on screen and thought: please don't let me end up like that.

The plot is thin - that is not meant pejoratively, it's not a plot-driven film - but the performances of the cast simply roar off the screen. Peter Mullan and Eddie Marsan are fantastic, but then again, they always are (as an aside, does Marsan not tire of playing scumbags?), but the real revelation in this film is the performance of Olivia Colman.

She is perfect in this, absolutely note-perfect; incredible acting. Awesome in her delivery. So good, in fact, that you forget this is just a movie. Her performance here is definitely going to propel her into the upper echelons of British acting - if she is not already there.

Tyrannosaur is not faultless, there are some scenes that linger too long and others that linger not long enough, but for an early effort from Considine this promises much for the future. This is Considine's 'Taxi Driver' and I will queue around the block for Considine's 'Goodfellas'.

Superb writing and gritty direction; performances better yet and Colman delivers on every level. Bravo Ms Colman, and bravo to everyone else associated with the best British film of the decade.

See it.