DOG ALTOGETHER

Dir. Paddy Considine · 2007 · 16 mins

Before Tyrannosaur, there was Dog Altogether.

Paddy Considine’s directorial debut follows Joseph, a man consumed by anger and violence, whose chance encounter with a charity-shop worker offers the possibility of something different.

Starring Peter Mullan and Olivia Colman, the short carries much of what Considine would later develop into Tyrannosaur: rage, loneliness, tenderness and the possibility of human connection in lives that have become hardened by experience.

Raw, uncomfortable and brilliantly performed, Dog Altogether is also a remarkable example of where a short film can lead. What began here would eventually grow into Considine’s first feature, making it particularly worth watching for independent filmmakers developing work of their own.

CONTENT WARNING

The film opens with a brief but very distressing scene involving violence towards an animal. The film also contains strong language, violence and mature themes.

BITTERSWEET recommends:Dog Altogether is an uncompromising watch, but an important one. A small film that would become the beginning of something much bigger.