Don’t worry folks, this isn’t some Spielberg project, but instead one more dose of gritty realism that one could only find in the rough and tough pockets of Glasgow. I’m putting Paddy Considine’s feature film debut at the top of next year’s list of film’s from actor-turned-directors. Tyrannosaur, which I imagine will begin lensing sometime this year, is a continuation and expansion of the characters found in his 2008 BAFTA-winning short Dog Altogether. The short film told the story of Joseph (Peter Mullan), a man who is plagued by a violence and rage that is driving him to self destruction. As he falls further into turmoil Joseph scours the landscape in search of a single grain of redemption that might restore hope to his fractured life. Both Mullan and Olivia Colman will return to reprise their roles and Considine has added the always effective Eddie Marsan (think of the horrible driving instructor in Mike Leigh’s Happy Go Lucky).
Tyrannosaur further looks at the relationship between Mullan and Colman’s character of Hannah, a Christian charity shop worker. Their relationship develops to reveal that Hannah is hiding a secret of her own that has devastating results on both their lives. The role of Joseph is based on Considine’s own father.
Already backed by development funds, producers and distributors in the shape of UK Film Council, Film4, Screen Yorkshire, Optimum Releasing, Madman and Nonstop, the project just received some add coin from EM Media. Diarmid Scrimshaw who produced the short film, and is developing Considine’s second feature film (The Journeyman) will produce.
We’ll be tracking well into the 2011 campaign. I was wondering if any of our readers saw Dog Altogether? I’d like to know your thoughts on the film, and Mullan’s character.
