3. Tyrannosaur
Paddy Considine clearly has insight into the mind of the bully. Earlier, he'd made this list as an actor in Shane Meadows'
A Room For Romeo Brass. For the same director, he'd played a disturbed squaddie taking revenge on a gang of petty drug dealers for the torment they caused his mentally challenged kid brother (
Dead Mans Shoes). With
Tyrannosaur, Considine gets on the other side of the camera, his first time in the director's chair. He's working from his own screenplay too, and the result is an intensely powerful movie about an unlikely bond between a violent drunk and a Christian woman who volunteers in a charity shop. In the film, we see Joseph, a bitter, resentful man fuelled by violent, self-destructive behaviour. Recovering from a beating in the street, Joseph takes shelter in Hanna's shop, where an uneasy friendship begins. Secrets are revealed between the two, resulting in devastating consequences for both of them. Rarely does a film dare to show such an unflinching representation of ugliness in people. Joseph could not start this story under more difficult circumstances; when we first meet him, he's just kicked a dog so badly it will die before the morning. This is a man who is from the outset beyond redemption in most people's eyes. Hannah has her own story. She's the victim of ongoing, sustained spousal abuse, increasing in severity over time. She has faith from which she draws strength, but it is wavering. Time is running out for Hannah. Olivia Coleman is the moral centre of this film and she delivers a breathtaking performance in her role. Through her, we learn more about Joseph (an equally mesmerising Peter Mullan) and, in turn, we begin to understand the terrible rage that burns within him. Finally, we're left with the feeling that if there's hope for someone as doomed as Joseph, there's hope for us all.