Tyrannosaur

Released Nov 18, 2011

1 hr. 31 min.

Drama

List

84%

87 Reviews

Tomatometer

85%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

An angry, violent alcoholic (Peter Mullan) finds respite with a devout woman (Olivia Colman) whose husband abuses her.

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Premiered Dec 27

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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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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

laurie s

Mullen always plays a good subhuman vermin creature and such is the power of his acting it makes me want to beat him to death with a baseball bat. Now, that is good acting. So too was Marsan's vile character evoking similar emotions. Colman was brillint too. A superior movie.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Paddy Considine

Director

Peter Mullan

Joseph

Olivia Colman

Hannah

Eddie Marsan

James

Ned Dennehy

Tommy

Sally Carman

Marie

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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

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Synopsis

An angry, violent alcoholic (Peter Mullan) finds respite with a devout woman (Olivia Colman) whose husband abuses her.

Director: Paddy Considine
Executive Producer: Mark Herbert, Peter Carlton, Katherine Butler, Hugo Heppell, Suzanne Alizart, Will Clarke
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

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