Tyrannosaur (film)

Tyrannosaur
Tyrannosaur original poster by Dan McCarthy
Directed by	Paddy Considine
Written by	Paddy Considine
Produced by	Diarmid Scrimshaw Mark Herbert
Starring	Peter Mullan Olivia Colman Eddie Marsan Paul Popplewell Sally Carman
Cinematography	Erik Wilson
Edited by	Pia Di Ciaula
Production companies	Warp X Inflammable Films Film4 Productions UK Film Council Screen Yorkshire EM Media Optimum Releasing
Distributed by	StudioCanal
Release dates	21 January 2011 (2011-01-21) (Sundance) 7 October 2011 (2011-10-07) (United Kingdom)
Running time	92 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	£750,000[1]
Box office	£396,930[2]

Tyrannosaur is a 2011 British drama film written and directed by Paddy Considine and starring Peter Mullan, Olivia Colman, Eddie Marsan, Paul Popplewell and Sally Carman.

Plot

In a drunken rage, widower Joseph kicks his dog Bluey to death, which he immediately regrets. He then goes to the local post office, where he causes a confrontation with several Pakistani employees, and later attacks three men who were teasing him at his local pub. After fleeing the pub, he hides in a charity shop, where he meets a compassionate employee, Hannah. A devout Christian, she prays for him to let go of his troubles and find his way.

Joseph returns home and encounters his six-year-old neighbour Samuel outside while his mother is inside with her abusive boyfriend. Later that evening, the Pakistani men from the post office surprise him and beat him unconscious. The following day, Joseph goes to Hannah's shop, where she tends to his injuries. Despite her kindness, he mocks her faith in God and insults her for not being able to have children, leaving her upset. She goes home, drinks wine and falls asleep. When her husband, James, arrives home and is unable to awaken her, he urinates on her.

Joseph goes to the shop again the next morning to apologise for his behaviour, and they go for a drink. Upon returning home, James tells Hannah that someone saw her earlier that day with another man, which she denies. When Hannah comes to work the following morning with a black eye, she tells Joseph that she fell in the bath. Later on, after Joseph's friend Jack dies from cancer, he goes back to the shop for a suit for the funeral. James enters and after seeing them laughing together, quietly threatens Hannah. When he returns home that night, a violent altercation ensues, in which James brutally rapes Hannah at knifepoint until she blacks out.

Hannah leaves James and asks Joseph if she can stay with him for a while, and he agrees. The pair grow closer and become good friends. Joseph reveals that his obese wife has been dead for five years due to complications from having diabetes. He tells Hannah that he regrets using the nickname "Tyrannosaur" for his wife, a dig at her weight that he only ever saw as a joke.

After so long, Joseph tells Hannah that she is not safe with him and suggests she leave. After attending Jack's funeral, Joseph decides to confront James. He takes Hannah's keys and goes to her house, where he finds James's bloody corpse in the bedroom. Shocked, he returns home and confronts Hannah. She initially feigns confusion but then breaks down, revealing that James had been brutally abusing her for a long time; he once sexually penetrated her with glass, leaving her unable to bear children.

A year later, Joseph writes a letter to Hannah, telling her Samuel was mauled by his mother's boyfriend's dog; in retaliation, Joseph beheaded the dog with a machete. He also admits that he had always admired her from afar, as she was the only person in town to smile at him and show him kindness, which is why he had approached her in the first place. The film ends with Joseph visiting Hannah in prison. Despite everything, they both appear hopeful for a better future.

Cast

• Peter Mullan as Joseph
• Olivia Colman as Hannah
• Eddie Marsan as James
• Paul Popplewell as Bod
• Samuel Bottomley as Samuel
• Sian Breckin as Samuel's Mum
• Ned Dennehy as Tommy
• Sally Carman as Marie
• Julia Mallam as Drunk Woman
• Andrew Milburn as Guy in Pub
• Natalia Carta as Drunk Woman's friend

Production

Tyrannosaur is an expansion of Dog Altogether, a short film for Warp Films that Considine wrote and directed, which won the Best Short Film BAFTA and BIFA awards as well as the Silver Lion award at Venice in 2007.^[3] The film received a grant of £206,540 from the National Lottery fund through the UK Film Council. The remainder of the film's budget came from Warp X, Inflammable Films, Film4, Screen Yorkshire,^[4] EM Media, and Optimum Releasing (StudioCanal). It depicts an environment similar to what Considine witnessed growing up on a council estate in the Midlands, although the film is in no way autobiographical.^[5] The film's title is a metaphor, the meaning of which is revealed in the film.

The film is set in an unspecified town in the North of England, although much of it was shot on location in residential areas of Leeds^[3] and Wakefield, including Seacroft, Cross Gates, Eccup, Harehills and Alwoodley, and the accents of many of the main characters are drawn from a wide geographical area. The film refers to the fictional Manners Estate as an area in the town where the more wealthy inhabitants reside. Manners Estate is the name of the council estate in the parish of Winshill near Burton-on-Trent, where Paddy Considine grew up.

Many of the extras used in the film were local residents, including local busker Chris Wheat, who was given a part after singing to the cast and crew on set.^[3] He performs his own original song in the film. Workers from the local St Vincent's Charity Shop used in the film were also given small parts. Several other small roles were given to crew members, including the film's producer, Diarmid Scrimshaw, the film's make-up designer, Nadia Stacey, and the production coordinator, Samantha Milnes, who was featured in a photo as Joseph's late wife. The film is dedicated to Considine's late mother, Pauline Considine. The end credits gives special thanks to both James Marsh and Gary Oldman.^[3]

Soundtrack

The film contained the following tracks. Original music was composed by Chris Baldwin and Dan Baker.^[3]

1. "Wand'rin' Star" – Nick Hemming (of The Leisure Society), cover of Lee Marvin's 1969 hit song from the western musical film Paint Your Wagon
2. "This Gun Loves you Back" – Chris Baldwin (written By Paddy Considine & Chris Baldwin)
3. "Truth or Glory" – JJ All Stars
4. "Saturday Night" – JJ All Stars
5. "Psycho Mash" – JJ All Stars
6. "Hi Jack" – Chris Wheat
7. "Sing All Our Cares Away" – Damien Dempsey
8. "We Were Wasted" – The Leisure Society

Reception

Box office

The film grossed £396,930, below its £750,000 production budget.^[2][6]

Critical response

Tyrannosaur received positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an approval rating of 83%, based on 88 reviews. The critical consensus states: "Tyrannosaur is a brutal, frank, and ultimately rewarding story of violent men seeking far-off redemption."^[7] The film also has a score of 65 out of 100 based on 18 critics on Metacritic, indicating "Generally favourable reviews".^[8]

Kim Newman of Empire wrote the "character study is as gripping as any hardboiled thriller, delivering emotional content that'll stay with you for a long time", and gave it 4/5 stars.^[9] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian also awarded the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote, "I have heard Tyrannosaur criticised as a movie that comes too close to miserablist cliche, but that isn't true: it's a visceral, considered dissection of abuse and rage and the dysfunctional relationships that rage creates, which, in turn, perpetuate that rage, and an examination of people who create their own eco-system of anger and unhappiness. The performances of Mullan, Colman and Marsan are excellent and create a compelling human drama. Tyrannosaur is far from a love story, but it is not a simply a hate story, either; it is certainly a very impressive debut from Considine."^[10] Other publications that awarded the film 4/5 stars included The Daily Telegraph^[11] and the Evening Standard.^[12]

The American film critic and blogger Jeffrey Wells was so taken by Tyrannosaur after seeing it at the Los Angeles Film Festival that he started 'Hollywood Elsewhere's Tyrannosaur fundraising campaign' with the idea of raising $2,000 to cover the rental of a screening room for Hollywood critics, with the hope of the film gaining recognition. Wells claimed this was the first screening financed by a critic.^[13]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4, calling Peter Mullan's performance muscular and unrelenting. He also remarked: "This isn't the kind of movie that even has hope enough to contain a message. There is no message, only the reality of these wounded personalities."^[14]

Mark Kermode of BBC Radio 5 Live hailed the film as one of the 11 Best Films of 2011.^[15] Kermode went on to award Olivia Colman Best Actress in his own Annual Kermode Awards.^[16] She tied with Tilda Swinton for We Need to Talk About Kevin.^[16]

By 18 December 2011, the film had won 21 awards from 28 nominations worldwide. The Guardian included the film in its shortlist for the First Film Award for 2012.^[17]

When the BAFTA Award nominations were announced on 17 January 2012, the omission of Olivia Colman in the Best Actress category led to global trending of both Olivia Colman and Tyrannosaur on Twitter.^[18]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result
2011	Sundance Film Festival[19]	The World Cinema Award for Directing: Dramatic	Paddy Considine	Won
		World Cinema Special Jury Prize for Breakout Performance	Peter Mullan	Won
		World Cinema Special Jury Prize for Breakout Performance	Olivia Colman	Won
		Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema – Dramatic	Paddy Considine	Nominated
	Nantucket Film Festival[20]	Best Writer/Director		Won
	Munich Film Festival[21]	Best Film By An Emerging Director (CineVision Award)		Won
	Voices Festival of Independent European Cinema[20]	Best Film		Won
		Best Acting	Olivia Colman	Won
	Dinard British Film Festival[22]	Golden Hitchcock for Best Film		Won
		Best Screenplay	Paddy Considine	Won
	Chicago International Film Festival[21]	Silver Hugo Award for Best Actress	Olivia Colman	Won
	Zagreb Film Festival[20]	Best Film		Won
	Thessaloniki International Film Festival[21]	Open Horizons (Audience Award)		Won
	Mar del Plata Film Festival[20]	Jury Special Award		Won
		Silver Astor for Best Screenplay	Paddy Considine	Won
	Stockholm Film Festival[21]	Best Directorial Debut	Paddy Considine	Won
		Best Actress	Olivia Colman	Won
		Best Film	Paddy Considine	Nominated
	British Independent Film Awards[23][24]	Best British Independent Film		Won
		Best Director	Paddy Considine	Nominated
		Best Debut Director		Won
		Best Actress	Olivia Colman	Won
		Best Actor	Peter Mullan	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Eddie Marsan[a]	Nominated
		Best Achievement in Production		Nominated
	Satellite Awards[25]	Best Actress in a Motion Picture	Olivia Colman	Nominated
		Best Original Screenplay	Paddy Considine	Nominated
		Best First Feature		Won
2012	Independent Spirit Awards[26]	Best International Film		Nominated
	London Film Critics Circle Awards[27]	Breakthrough British Filmmaker	Paddy Considine	Nominated
		British Actress of the Year	Olivia Colman[b]	Won
		British Actor of the Year	Peter Mullan	Nominated
	BAFTA Awards[28]	Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer	Paddy Considine, Diarmid Scrimshaw	Won
	Evening Standard British Film Awards[29]	Best Film		Nominated
		Best Actor	Peter Mullan	Nominated
		Best Actress	Olivia Colman	Won
		Best Screenplay	Paddy Considine	Nominated
	Kermode Awards[16]	Best Actress	Olivia Colman[c]	Won
	Empire Awards[30]	Best British Film		Nominated
		Best Actress	Olivia Colman	Won
	Bucharest International Film Festival (Bucuresti IFF)[31]	Best Film		Won
		Critics’ Choice Award		Won
	Transilvania International Film Festival[21]	FIPRESCI Prize		Won

Notes

1. Also for War Horse
2. Also for The Iron Lady
3. Shared with Tilda Swinton for We Need to Talk About Kevin

References

1. "Paddy Considine on Tyrannosaur – Film4". 16 February 2011. Archived from the original on 16 February 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
2. "Tyrannosaur (2011)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
3. "Tyrannosaur (press kit)" (PDF). Strand Releasing. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
4. "Shoestring Yorkshire film scores monster hit in US". Yorkshire Post. 2 February 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
5. Godfrey, Alex (7 October 2011). "Council Estate of Mind". Vice. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
6. "Tyrannosaur (2011) – International Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. 12 January 2012. Archived from the original on 12 January 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
7. "Tyrannosaur Movie Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
8. "Tyrannosaur (2011): Reviews". Metacritic. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
9. Newman, Kim (2 October 2011). "Tyrannosaur". Empire. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
10. Bradshaw, Peter (6 October 2011). "Tyrannosaur – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
11. Collin, Robbie (6 October 2011). "Tyrannosaur, review". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
12. Sexton, David (7 October 2011). "Tyrannosaur". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
13. Wells, Jeffrey (18 October 2011). "Tyrannosaur Dollars...Yes!". Hollywood Elsewhere. Archived from the original on 10 January 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
14. Ebert, Roger (30 November 2011). "In Hell some demons are better than others". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
15. Kermode, Mark (6 January 2012). "Mark Kermode's film blog: Eleven from Eleven". BBC. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
16. 2012 The Kermode Awards. 19 February 2012. Event occurs at 8:07 – via YouTube.
17. "The Guardian first film award 2012: our shortlist". The Guardian. 10 January 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
18. "Olivia Colman snubbed by BAFTA, loved by Twitter | DollyMix". Dollymix.tv. 17 January 2012. Archived from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
19. "Factbox – Winners at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival". Reuters. 30 January 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
20. "Awards 2011" (PDF). Channel 4. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
21. "Tyrannosaur (2011) Awards & Festivals". MUBI. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
22. Lemercier, Fabien (10 October 2011). "Considine's Tyrannosaur triumphs at Dinard". Cineuropa. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
23. "2011 Winners and Nominees". British Independent Film Awards. 24 October 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
24. "Tyrannosaur takes hat trick at British Independent Film Awards". The Guardian. 4 December 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
25. "2011 Awards". International Press Academy. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
26. Knegt, Peter; Greene, Steve (29 November 2011). ""Take Shelter" and "The Artist" Lead Spirit Award Nominations". IndieWire. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
27. Chitwood, Adam (19 January 2012). "2012 London Film Critics Circle Awards Winners". Collider. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
28. "Film in 2012 | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
29. "Evening Standard British Film Awards 2012 Winners: Michael Fassbender, Olivia Colman". HuffPost. 6 February 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
30. O'Hara, Helen (25 March 2012). "Jameson Empire Awards 2012 Winners!". Empire. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
31. ""Tyrannosaur" ia trofeul Bucureşti IFF. Radu Jude, premiat pentru regie". Film Reporter (in Romanian). 26 March 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2023.

External links

• Tyrannosaur at IMDb
• Tyrannosaur at Rotten Tomatoes
• Tyrannosaur at AllMovie