Depressing drama favorites Barry Keoghan (The Killing of a Sacred Deer, The Banshees of Inisherin) and Christopher Abbott (It Comes At Night, Possessor) team up for arguably their most depressing drama yet in debut writer/director Christopher Andrews’ masterful Bring Them Down. Emotionally devastating and achingly sincere, there should be a viewer content warning: expect some of the most unrelenting displays of animal cruelty put to screen. The primary conflict—a feud between neighbors in rural Ireland—manages to approach generational trauma through a fresh lens, courtesy of a sharp script from Andrews. This film feels authentically Irish, skirting between moments of bold brutality and quietly intimate confrontations, all accented by the gorgeous backdrop of the countryside.
A riveting opening scene immediately immerses the audience in this grim worldview. A flashback to a car accident shatters Michael’s life forever. Abbott plays the lead, Michael, with a meditative ease, just barely revealing his darkness hiding underneath. Abbott has a particularly difficult role, in that he had to learn the beautiful Gaelic language built into the core of Michael’s relationships. As a result of a tragic accident in his past that left Michael’s mother dead, he now lives with his disabled father (Colm Meaney) on their sheep farm. We get a glimpse into Michael’s complacency early on. He clearly does not want to be stuck here on the property, tending to the rams and his cruel, grumpy father. Yet, circumstances have led him here, and as such, he shoulders the full responsibility for the family’s sheep farm.
On the flip side, Jack (Keoghan) similarly is stuck in a rut of complex family dynamics, tied to a feud of the past. Jack struggles with an abusive father (Paul Ready) and financial desperation. Jack’s portion of the story shows his complicity in the ultimate cruelty at hand, yet manages to add a freshness to his perspective. In Bring Them Down, nothing is black and white. Here are two opposing viewpoints of the same tragic tale, leading to an ultimate crescendo of violence and horror that leaves its mark on the viewer. For his part in the affair, Keoghan plays up his childlike physicality. His Jack never feels threatening, but rather in too deep. Saltburn remains my favorite Keoghan performance, but we see new sides of the up-and-comer as Jack. As each subsequent layer of the story unfurls, we are exposed to an uncomfortable reality driven by revenge and hatred.
When Michael’s father receives a call notifying him that two of their most precious rams have been discovered dead, the meticulous Michael fears foul play may be involved. Upon further investigation, Michael notices overt suspiciousness coming from the son of his former girlfriend, Caroline (Nora-Jane Noone). Jack appears to have taken the rams in as his own, and wants to sell them for profit while privately claiming that those very same rams were turned to “slurry” after he found them. From this point on, the increasingly tense situation escalates at their every interaction. What happens if Michael gets driven past the point of no return?
As far as feel-good cinema is concerned, Bring Them Down most definitely does not fit that bill. Instead, head to the cinema to experience a truly atmospheric dive into the morally complex waters of two feuding families. By the end, the journey we follow these characters on can be difficult to stomach. Halfway in, Michael’s faithful doggie, Mac, who helps him with the sheep herding, seems to be in danger. Expecting the inevitable to occur, I braced myself for what I knew would be coming around the corner. Still, Andrews’ film mostly embraces the unexpected. It never feels to be reveling in the deep sadness, nor does it steadfastly take sides one way or another as to who is the true villain. The complexities of life are more complicated than hero or villain. Bring Them Down provides an acting showcase for Barry Keoghan and Christopher Abbott—two of the greatest young actors of our time—while telling a riveting story dipped in Irish specificity.
Bring Them Down unfolds its allegorical complexities exclusively in theaters on February 7th.
