If “Tyrannosaur” were a tabloid (and in a way, it is), its headline would be “Reckless Violence in Pointless Film.”

This sorry British art-house exploitation picture begins with an angry drunk named Joseph (Peter Mullan) getting kicked out of a pub, and proceeds with him kicking his own dog to death.

Lovely fellow. In a shop he meets a pious Christian (Olivia Colman) who offers to help him find the way back through prayer. The twist? She’s just as psychotic as he is, thanks to an abusive relationship with her husband (Eddie Marsan).

What is the message of this film, which features several gruesome beatings and a man urinating on a sleeping woman? That actors love to play twisted, extreme characters (and critics love to love them, their misery circuits feeding on dark, despairing visions like toddlers obsessing over princesses).

True, the stars are very good at what they do, but so what?