Actor Paddy Considine's directorial debut has an actor's aura about it: the characters are the story, and in this case the central character, anti-hero Joseph (Peter Mullan) is an uncontrollably angry working-class Brit from Leeds who beats two dogs to death in between humans he bloodies up.
As his foil, Hannah (Olivia Colman) is the essence of kindness, bonding with Joseph in her thrift shop but suffering physical abuse from her middle-class husband, James (Eddie Marsan), who urinates on her, beats her, and rapes her.
In Considine's world, anger and violence have only a brief respite, for instance when Hannah and Joseph attend a pub party in honor of Joseph's best friend's death. Otherwise, cruelty rules with a bit of redemption in Hannah. Even that notion is ironic given the denouement of the story.
Considine takes Mike-Leigh-like kitchen sink realism to a new level, almost as if he were parodying the venerable Brit staple. But, no, this is the real deal of aggression, and Mullan is close to perfect as the angry old man who could be redeemed if he had the moral strength.
While misanthropy dominates this bleak landscape, it's the acting that makes it all enjoyable. It's tough out there, dinosaurs of all kinds troll for heads and hearts.
As his foil, Hannah (Olivia Colman) is the essence of kindness, bonding with Joseph in her thrift shop but suffering physical abuse from her middle-class husband, James (Eddie Marsan), who urinates on her, beats her, and rapes her.
In Considine's world, anger and violence have only a brief respite, for instance when Hannah and Joseph attend a pub party in honor of Joseph's best friend's death. Otherwise, cruelty rules with a bit of redemption in Hannah. Even that notion is ironic given the denouement of the story.
Considine takes Mike-Leigh-like kitchen sink realism to a new level, almost as if he were parodying the venerable Brit staple. But, no, this is the real deal of aggression, and Mullan is close to perfect as the angry old man who could be redeemed if he had the moral strength.
While misanthropy dominates this bleak landscape, it's the acting that makes it all enjoyable. It's tough out there, dinosaurs of all kinds troll for heads and hearts.