Tyrannosaur *****

Paddy Considine’s first feature film’s subject of domestic violence was never going to be an easy film to watch. But what was unexpected is how powerful a debut Tyrannosaur truly is. It’s almost cathartic in nature and raises questions about the writer-director’s own experiences.

Self-destructive widower Joseph (Peter Mullan) comes across charity shop worker Hannah (Olivia Colman) one day while trying to hide from the consequences of his violent actions. What stems from this first awkward meeting between this working-class man and middle-class woman is a desperate bond of help, especially as Hannah is looking for a way out of her abusive marriage to James (Eddie Marsan).

Like a self-inflicted open wound, Considine keeps things red raw and festering as a painful reminder of the ugly, destructive and secretive side of human nature. The biggest shock is not necessarily the violence – implied or otherwise – in this film, but the blossoming moments of hope that rear their heads. Without these, the dramatic impact of the lull before the storm would never be as greatly or as sinisterly felt.

Considine has harvested some truly unforgettable and quite outstanding performances from Mullan and Colman that will haunt you like no other grit-Brit flick in a very, very long time. The biggest surprise is Peep Show’s comedic actress Colman in such an against-type role. She still exudes that subliminal vulnerability but outer determination in this, but her foray into straight acting couldn’t be more brave and compassionate. She deserves as many award nominations as she can get for going through shooting such harrowing scenes that include domestic rape.

Mullan draws on his arsenal of nasty characteristics in this, gleamed from other gritty roles. However, like Colman’s against-type role, we get to see a softer side in this, almost an old-fashioned if twisted principled man beneath the racist and psychotic episodes. It’s the unpredictability of his character that keeps us on edge throughout, wondering whether the fuse will be lit at any one moment. However, overall, Considine’s characters are never one-dimensional, and are ever changing that the near-end twist will not surprise but will disappoint the healing process that these two leads strive for.

Marsan is another actor drawn to playing a warped mind, and his faceless entrance in this film is enough for us to despise James from the start and paints the bigger picture, without one word uttered. Considine never allows James to redeem himself, keeping him the cowardly monster that he is. Considine depicts every abusive mind game in the book in one of the most realistic and damming portrayals seen in a film in a long time that often does not involve physical actions, but is disturbingly sinister all the same.

Considine has produced an outstandingly stark and brutally authentic look at abuse that offers no conceited, moralistic high grounds, flimsy solutions or ‘happily-ever-after’ moments. It simply plays out the actions and reactions and lets the viewer decide on their take of events. Tyrannosaur will transport you to a darker place in the soul for a while but saves you with sporadic moments of joy that keeps it from becoming too self-absorbed and pretentious.

5/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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