Oscar season is upon us and along with it comes a slew of foreign movies vying for our attention and a few home based titles that seek consideration.  One such foreign movie is Tyrannosaur coming to us from our British neighbors on the other side of the pond (though "neighbor" is a bit of a stretch).

It stars Peter Mullan as Joseph, a brooding damaged man who has decided after a lifetime of wrath and rage that he has brought destruction to himself as much as to the world around him.  He is honestly seeking change and perhaps some redemption.  His need to change has driven him to deny his instincts even when it comes to doing the right thing as he only knows how to manage it in the wrong way.  He's a character that is not only aware of his flaws, but able to acknowledge what made him aware and that if he had the same chances he would make the same mistakes and in some ways his second chance is his only chance.

As spectacular as Mullan's performance is it is eclipsed by Olivia Colman's performance as Hannah, a woman who is being mentally, spiritually and physically abused by her husband.  She sees a chance to redeem Joseph as a chance to save herself and she's as right about it as she is wrong.  Her performance moves well beyond pain and instead revolves around anguish, frustration and hope.

In the end both Joseph and Hannah fall to a path of self-deception as their means to change and seeing themselves in one another they are able to incorporate who they were and who they are with who they want to be.  The movie is dark, emotionally powerful.  Simply put it's a movie for adults.  There were a few moments in the movie that left me agape, not for that simplistic movie shock that film makers so often rely upon, but because of something that felt natural to the pacing of the movie yet still managed to shrug off my expectations.

I rate this movie a 3.14 out of 3.14.