We welcome our biggest guest ever as we welcome Australian actor/director Joel Edgerton to the show to talk about his new psychological thriller and directorial debut, The Gift. Bernard is also joined by Dustin and Eli to talk about actors-turned-directors and share their Indie Picks of the Week. Plus, Bernard talks about how Edgerton creeped the hell out of his wife. All that and more on this week’s Way Too Indiecast!

This episode is sponsored by MUBI, an curated online cinema that brings its members a hand-picked selection of the best indie, foreign, and classic films. Try it for 30 days FREE by visiting www.mubi.com/waytooindie.

Topics

• Indie Picks of the Week (1:41)
• Actors-Turned-Directors (9:26)
• The Gift Review (29:15)
• Joel Edgerton Interview (34:45)

WTI Articles Referenced in the Podcast

Creep review
Tyrannosaur review
Unbroken review
Submarine review

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Blake and I list our top ten favorite films of 2011. Comparing films to one another is hard to do when they are often so different. Thus ranking other people’s artwork such as films is never easy but everyone likes a Top 10 list (which is the reason why I told Blake we should do a numbered list of 10 instead of just an alphabetical one). So without further ado, our list of Top 10 Films of 2011:

]]> http://waytooindie.com/features/top-10-films-of-2011/feed/ 0 http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/tyrannosaur/ http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/tyrannosaur/#comments Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=2500 Tyrannosaur is the first feature film by actor Paddy Considine (Submarine) who switched up his traditional role for writer and director on this film. It is a dark look into a lonely man whose life is filled with drinking and anger that at times can be hard to watch. Tyrannosaur is this year’s feel bad movie of the year (tied maybe with We Need to Talk About Kevin) that does not offer much for hope nor does it shy away from domestic violence and abuse. Domestic abuse is one of the scariest horrors in film, because it is the most realistic kind.]]>

Tyrannosaur is the first feature film by actor Paddy Considine (Submarine) who switched up his traditional role for writer and director on this film. It is a dark look into a lonely man whose life is filled with drinking and anger that at times can be hard to watch. Tyrannosaur is this year’s feel bad movie of the year (tied maybe with We Need to Talk About Kevin) that does not offer much for hope nor does it shy away from domestic violence and abuse. Domestic abuse is one of the scariest horrors in film, because it is the most realistic kind.

To say that Joseph (Peter Mullan) has anger management issues is a huge understatement. There are random moments where his anger explodes out of control. He will be the first to say that he is not a good human being. In the very first scene we see Joseph getting so upset with his dog he ends up kicking it to death. Shortly after that he shatters a store’s window with a rock without reason.

Joseph spends much of his time around local pubs where it is not uncommon for him to get into fights with other people. He is an Irish widower whose wife died of cancer. But you get the sense that his aggression has been with him his whole life.

One day Joseph stumbles into a charity thrift shop that a young lady named Hannah (Olivia Colman) runs. Hannah is a proud Christian and is quick to offer him a prayer knowing that his man is lost in this world. She is one that forgives easily or so it seems. Joseph is a little perplexed as to Hannah’s kindness to a total stranger.

On the outside Hannah has a happy-go-lucky attitude but there is more to her than meets the eye. That is until you see her eye is bruised one day as she is opening up the shop. When asked about it she lies and said she fell. In the back, she is seen taking swigs of alcohol.

She is more like Joseph than you would believe. However, she is not the one with the anger issues or the abuser but rather the abused. Just like when Joseph came to her when he was at his lowest point Hannah comes to him at hers. Maybe he sees the damage he has done in the past through her but even when you see his kindness shine through, it is not without boundaries.

As you probably have guessed the black eye was not caused by her falling. It came from her husband James (Eddie Marsan) who beat her after seeing her merely talking to Joseph. This is the kind of man who comes home drunk, urinates on her purposely as she pretends to sleep and ignore it. But everyone has a cracking point where enough is enough, Hannah is reaching hers quickly.

Peter Mullan is undeniably exceptional in his performance as Joseph in Tyrannosaur. His unrelenting anger sets the whole bleak tone of the film. When the time called for it, which was not often, he showed his character had some kindness to it. Olivia Colman was just as equally as impressive.

Tyrannosaur is a grim tell-it-how-it-is kind film that is more of a character study than plot based. It is a brutal film that does not reward you with much salvation or uplifting message. Instead, the reward is the amazing performances by the cast members. It is one you have to be in the right mood to see.

The 2012 Film Independent Spirit Award nominations were announced today by presenters Anthony Mackie and Kate Beckinsale kicking off the award season. Of the total 277 total film submissions The Artist and Take Shelter raked in the most nominations this year with five in total. Close behind them with 4 nominations were films Martha Marcy May Marlene, The Descendants, and Drive. I would say the front-runner for awards this year is The Artist but all of the films above will have a shot of being represented here as well as at the Oscars.

Michelle Williams gets her second nomination Best Female Lead nomination in a row with her role in My Week With Marilyn (last year’s nomination was for Blue Valentine). She was not the one to get a repeat nomination for the second year in a row as John Hawkes also received a nomination for Martha Marcy May Marlene for Best Supporting Male (John Hawkes won the award last year for Winter’s Bone).

In order to qualify for Spirit Awards a film has to be made for under $20 million, which would explain the absence of Tree Of Life among the nominations, which is a little disappointing as it has been my favorite film of 2011 so far (I still have a fair amount to see still though). Although I have not seen them yet, I am a little disappointed that Alps and The Skin I Live In did not make the cut for a nomination in the Best Foreign Film category (need to have at least 1 U.S. producer to qualify for the other awards).

The winners will be announced at the 27th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards on February 25th and the broadcast will air at 10 p.m. ET/PT on IFC.

50/50 – Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Ben Karlin
Beginners – Miranda de Pencier, Lars Knudsen, Leslie Urdang, Jay Van Hoy, Dean Vanech
Drive – Michel Litvak, John Palermo, Marc Platt, Gigi Pritzker, Adam Siegel
Take Shelter – Tyler Davidson, Sophia Lin
The Artist – Thomas Langmann, Emmanuel Montamat
The Descendants – Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor

Mike Mills – Beginners
Nicolas Winding Refn – Drive
Jeff Nichols – Take Shelter
Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Alexander Payne – The Descendants

Another Earth – Directed by Mike Cahill; Producers: Mike Cahill, Hunter Gray, Brit Marling, Nicholas Shumaker
In The Family – Directed by Patrick Wang; Producers: Robert Tonino, Andrew van den Houten, Patrick Wang
Margin Call – Directed by J.C. Chandor; Producers: Robert Ogden Barnum, Michael Benaroya, Neal Dodson, Joe Jenckes, Corey Moosa, Zachary Quinto
Martha Marcy May Marlene – Directed by Sean Durkin; Producers: Antonio Campos, Patrick Cunningham, Chris Maybach, Josh Mond
Natural Selection – Directed by Robbie Pickering; Producers: Brion Hambel, Paul Jensen

Demian Bichir – A Better Life
Jean Dujardin – The Artist
Ryan Gosling – Drive
Woody Harrelson – Rampart
Michael Shannon – Take Shelter

Lauren Ambrose – Think Of Me
Rachel Harris – Natural Selection
Adepero Oduye – Pariah
Elizabeth Olsen – Martha Marcy May Marlene
Michelle Williams – My Week With Marilyn

Albert Brooks – Drive
John Hawkes – Martha Marcy May Marlene
Christopher Plummer – Beginners
John C. Reilly – Cedar Rapids
Corey Stoll – Midnight In Paris

Jessica Chastain – Take Shelter
Angelica Huston – 50/50
Janet McTeer – Albert Nobbs
Harmony Santana – Gun Hill Road
Shaileen Woodley – The Descendants

Bellflower – Written and directed by Evan Glodell; Producers: Evan Glodell, Vincent Grashaw
Circumstance – Written and directed by Maryam Keshavarz; Producers: Karin Chien, Maryam Keshavarz, Melissa M. Lee
Hello Lonesome – Written and directed and produced by Adam Reid
Lovers of Hate – Written and directed by Dee Rees; Producer: Nekisa Cooper
The Dynamiter – Writters: Matthew Gordon and Brad Ingelsby; Directed by Matthew Gordon; Producers: Kevin Abrams, Matthew Gordon, Merilee Holt, Nate Tuck, Amile Wilson

An African Election – Jarreth J. Merz, Kevin Merz
Bill Cunningham New York – Richard Press
The Interrupters – Steve James
The Redemption of General Butt Naked – Daniele Anastasion, Eric Strauss
We Were Here – David Weissman, Bill Weber

A Separation – Asghar Farhadi
Melancholia – Lars von Trier
Shame – Steve McQueen
The Kid With A Bike – Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Tyrannosaur – Paddy Considine

Joel Hodge – Bellflower
Benjamin Kasulke – The Off Hours
Darius Khondji – Midnight In Paris
Guillaume Schiffman – The Artist
Jeffrey Waldron – The Dynamiter

Joseph Cedar – Footnote
Michel Hazanivicius – The Artist
Tom McCarthy – Win Win
Mike Mills – Beginners
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash – The Descendants

Mike Cahill & Brit Marling – Another Earth
J.C. Chandor – Margin Call
Patreck DeWitt – Terri
Phil Johnston – Cedar Rapids
Will Reiser – 50/50

Margin Call
Director: J.C. Chandor
Ensemble Cast: Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Mary McDonnell, Demi Moore

Chad Burris – Mosquita y Mari
Sophia Lin – Take Shelter
Josh Mond – Martha Marcy May Marlene

Heather Courtney – Where Soldiers Come From
Danfung Dennis – Hell and Back Again
Alma Har’El – Bombay Beach

Simon Arthur – Silver Tongues
Mark Jackson – Without
Nicholas Ozeki – Mamitas

There were a few films that received multiple awards at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Drake Doremus’ Like Crazy won the Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic as well as a special jury prize for acting by Felicity Jones. Mike Cahill’s Another Earth received two awards, one for special jury prize for dramatic competition and the Alfred P. Sloan prize. Paddy Considine’s Tyrannosaur also walked away with two awards.

Full list of 2011 Sundance Film Festival winners:

Grand Jury Prize, Dramatic:
Like Crazy

Grand Jury Prize, Documentary:
How To Die In Oregon

World Cinema Jury Prize, Dramatic:
Happy, Happy

World Cinema Jury Prize, Documentary:
Hell and Back Again

Dramatic Audience Award:
Circumstance

Documentary Audience Award:
Buck

World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award:
Kinyarwanda

World Cinema Documentary Audience Award:
Senna

The Best of NEXT Audience Award:
to.get.her

Directing Award, Dramatic:
Sean Durkin, Martha Marcy May Marlene

Directing Award, Documentary:
Jon Foy, Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles

World Cinema Directing Award, Dramatic:
Paddy Considine, Tyrannosaur

World Cinema Directing Award, Documentary:
James Marsh, Project Nim

Waldo Scott Screenwriting Award:
Another Happy Day

World Cinema Screenwriting Award:
Restoration

Documentary Editing Award:
If a Tree Falls

World Cinema Documentary Editing Award:
The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975

Excellence in Cinematography Award, Dramatic:
Pariah

Excellence in Cinematography Award, Documentary:
The Redemption of General Butt Naked

World Cinema Cinematography Award, Dramatic:
All Your Dead Ones

World Cinema Cinematography Award, Documentary:
Hell and Back Again

Special Jury Prize: Dramatic (Acting):
Felicity Jones, Like Crazy

Special Jury Prize: Dramatic:
Another Earth

Special Jury Prize: Documentary:
Being Elmo

World Cinema Special Jury Prize: Documentary
Position Among The Stars

World Cinema Special Jury Prize: Dramatic
Tyrannosaur

Alfred P. Sloan Prizes
Another Earth

Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Award:
Cherien Dabis