A darkly humorous and melancholic debut: ‘Bring Them Down’
A tale of fathers, sons, and mutilated sheep
Christopher Andrews’ directorial debut, “Bring Them Down”, is a rural Irish drama that masterfully blends pitch-black humor with pervasive melancholy. The film explores themes of masculinity and cycles of sadness through a narrative that shifts perspectives in a manner reminiscent of “Rashomon.” However, it doesn’t confront these themes directly; instead, it allows them to simmer beneath the surface, manifesting in a blood feud that feels all-encompassing in the moment but reveals a pitiable quality upon closer inspection.
Watch the trailer for “Bring Them Down”
A haunting prologue
The film opens with a brief but distressing prologue, alternating between chaos and silence, depicting a car crash. Michael (Christopher Abbott) discovers that his mother had planned to leave his father and, in a fit of uncontrollable emotion, speeds off the road. His mother, seated in the passenger seat, dies on impact. Michael’s then-girlfriend, Caroline (Nora-Jane Noone), is also in the car and is left with a pronounced scar down the left side of her face—a stark embodiment of how women often bear the brunt of men’s unchecked rage.
The weight of past traumas
Years later, Michael lives with his demanding, paraplegic father, Ray (Colm Meaney), tending to their ram farm day and night. Caroline has since married Michael’s neighbor and competitor, Gary (Paul Ready), with whom she has a teenage son, Jack (Barry Keoghan). The weight of past traumas already creates tension between the two families, which is only exacerbated when two of Michael’s sheep are found dead on Gary’s property. As more of Michael’s livestock are maimed, he is forced to put them down one by one, escalating the suspicion and animosity.
A disconcerting aura
By unveiling this silent storm from Michael’s perspective, “Bring Them Down” creates a disconcerting aura around Gary and Jack. Accompanied by a thumping, off-kilter score, they appear neighborly towards Michael in one moment and icy in the next. Caroline’s kindly demeanor towards Michael, contrasted with her coldness towards her husband, further complicates matters. Michael, however, is constantly reminded of his past actions each time he looks at her scarred face.
Unraveling the mystery
The film gradually reveals who is responsible for each new violent turn and, more importantly, why. For much of the first half, Andrews sends Michael journeying through nighttime landscapes, obscuring violent imagery before revealing it at gut-churning moments. As Michael enacts revenge on a father-son duo who seem sociopathic, the film doubles back to unfurl new layers to its seeming antagonist. Michael begins to appear equally unhinged, plunging all three men (and Ray) into a deeply dispiriting and bleakly funny tale where bloodshed seems inevitable.
A cursed premise
Although no character expresses religious or superstitious beliefs, the initial premise of “Bring Them Down” feels almost cursed. Michael’s sheep are innocent victims in a larger scheme, but the looming sense that he might deserve this punishment for his past sins is inescapable. This imbues the film with a purgatorial quality. The pressures placed on Michael by his father and on Jack by Gary set Abbott and Keoghan’s characters on a collision course, drawing quietly troubled performances from both actors. Their portrayals occasionally build to disquieting outbursts, making them utterly fascinating to watch.
Unconfronted truths
Andrews carves out a distinct space for implication in a story that might seem literal and straightforward. Ray, for instance, is unaware of Michael’s role in his wife’s death, though he often laments her passing in front of him, as if challenging him. Similarly, Caroline’s crumbling marriage and her lingering affinity for Michael raise questions about Jack’s true parentage. This question is never explicitly broached but takes on greater thematic significance in the context of the film’s father-son musings. Jack and Michael become victims of familial circumstance and each other’s selfishness, central to this tale of violence and hatred passed down through generations.
The inevitable eruption
When the conflict finally erupts, “Bring Them Down” pulls back on its heightened, revenge-movie visual style, stripping the brewing conflict of any discernible allure. The film’s substance lies in its lack of stylization during its most violent moments, making its vicious characters seem pathetic by the end. The roles they are pushed into by forces greater than themselves—their fathers, their lineage, their financial circumstances—reduce them to squabbling children. It’s grimly funny and hilariously sad.