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Tyrannosaur

Play trailer Poster for Tyrannosaur Released Nov 18, 2011 1h 31m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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84% Tomatometer 87 Reviews 85% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
An angry, violent alcoholic (Peter Mullan) finds respite with a devout woman (Olivia Colman) whose husband abuses her.
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Tyrannosaur

Tyrannosaur

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Critics Consensus

Tyrannosaur is a brutal, frank, and ultimately rewarding story of violent men seeking far-off redemption.

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Critics Reviews

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Deborah Ross The Spectator It is full of masculine fury and the women who take the brunt of it, and if this does not sound an attractive proposition, it's because it isn't, and never is, but, as far as these unattractive propositions go, this is powerfully affecting. Aug 31, 2018 Full Review Ty Burr Boston Globe The movie is cruelly frank about the ways damage cascades down to the powerless, but while it's not for the fainthearted (or for animal lovers), rewards are there. Rated: 3/4 Mar 1, 2012 Full Review Sara Michelle Fetters MovieFreak.com More so, as familiar as a lot of this Considine does a great job of making it feel fresh and original even if little of it actually is, giving his finished film a lived-in quality that's undeniable. Rated: 3/4 Jan 27, 2012 Full Review Stefan Pape Common Sense Media A hard and heavy watch -- for late teens and adults only -- this is a film that will floor audiences with its powerful performances and grim storytelling. Rated: 5/5 Jan 18, 2022 Full Review Charlotte Harrison Charlotte Sometimes Goes to the Movies Brutal British realism, with two extraordinary lead performances. Total must-see. May 22, 2021 Full Review Yasser Medina Cinefilia It is, in my opinion, a devastating drama about the volatility of human morality. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 7/10 Jul 24, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Faiz D A very powerful, disturbing movie. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/29/24 Full Review matthew w Extremely grim tale of two lost souls, one violent & one fragile looking for some sort of redemption anchored by the excellent Mullan & the truly heartbreaking Colman. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/17/23 Full Review Shock Therapy R This is the underbelly of fear and hate, and a brilliant take at that. Why are we so angry? Can we even remember? This was an exposé of the mirror to which we don't want to glance, and the looking glass with which we don't want to peer when disaster strikes. Yet the abused, felt safe with Joseph, and the boy, sought to protect him. Roger Ebert before he died wrote in his review of this movie that perhaps ‘some demons were better than others in hell'. I disagree with this characterization. Hell is where we live. Some make it out. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/02/22 Full Review Squirrel H Relatively unknown when first made, hence watching with no notion. Acting, directing outstanding. Hits all your emotions in one film. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/09/22 Full Review Audience Member A film as hard as steel, served by an exceptional acting, especially the performance of the battered woman, totally bluffing. We will also appreciate the terrible efficiency of the direction, which sounds right in this deleterious atmosphere, prepare your handkerchiefs! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member If you're the kind of person who is easily upset or depressed, Tyrannosaur is not the film for you. It's almost relentlessly bleak, often feeling like one of Dante's circles of hell, and it has a very diluted colour palate, with most scenes using only a few base colours. It's certainly well-acted, with Peter Mullan and Olivia Coleman giving some of their rawest on-screen performances to date. The film always strives for realism, and tries to show what life is like on the bottom rung, with seemingly everything and everyone out to get you. It does have it's fair share of familiar narrative devices, including the always tiresome ‘single mother's new boyfriend is an irredeemably awful scumbag cliché', but for the most part it's a stripped-down, gritty portrayal of everyday life for people with a heart full of remorse. It's certainly not to everyone's tastes, and has few moments of levity, but if you have a strong stomach, I'd recommend seeing it at least once. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Tyrannosaur

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis An angry, violent alcoholic (Peter Mullan) finds respite with a devout woman (Olivia Colman) whose husband abuses her.
Director
Paddy Considine
Producer
Diarmid Scrimshaw
Screenwriter
Paddy Considine
Distributor
Strand Releasing
Production Co
Warp X, Inflammable Films
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 18, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 31, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$22.1K
Runtime
1h 31m
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