‘Bring Them Down’ Review: A Blood-Soaked Irish Drama That Lays Low Its Feuding Characters

As a seasoned movie lover with a keen eye for rural dramas, I found “Bring Them Down” to be a gripping and poignant tale that masterfully navigates the complexities of masculinity, family dynamics, and revenge. The film’s haunting visuals, coupled with its disquieting score, create an atmosphere that is both captivating and unsettling, much like the characters themselves.

Christopher Andrews’ rural Irish drama “Bring Them Down,” his directorial debut, navigates between pitch-black humor and lingering melancholy. It’s a story about fathers, sons, and disfigured sheep that explores masculinity and cycles of sorrow in a subtle way, often hinting at these themes rather than directly addressing them. The narrative perspective shifts in a manner reminiscent of “Rashomon,” but the underlying questions of masculinity and sadness are kept just beyond the immediate view. Much like its emotionally limited male characters, the film doesn’t openly tackle these ideas but allows them to grow insidiously, manifesting as a boiling blood feud that seems overwhelming in the heat of the moment, yet appears pathetic when viewed from a distance.

A brief but distressing prologue — told through alternating chaos and silence — reveals a car crash. Michael (Christopher Abbott), upon finding out that his mother had planned to leave his father, sped off in a fit of uncontrollable emotion and swerved off the road. His mother, in the passenger’s seat, was killed on impact. His then-girlfriend Caroline (Nora-Jane Noone) was in the car as well, and was left with a pronounced scar down the left side of her face, a focused embodiment of the way women bear the brunt of men’s unchecked rage.

In the passage of time, I find myself residing with my stern, wheelchair-bound father, Ray (Colm Meaney), who owns a ram farm that requires constant attention, day and night. Ironically, Caroline, my former partner, has tied the knot with my neighbor and rival, Gary (Paul Ready). Together they have a teenage son, Jack (Barry Keoghan). The remnants of our past heartaches have created an underlying tension between our families, which intensifies when two of my sheep are discovered dead on Gary’s land. Matters quickly escalate, and whispers of foul play arise when numerous other livestock under my care suffer gruesome injuries, forcing me to euthanize them one by one.

Through Michael’s eyes, “Bring Them Down” casts an unsettling atmosphere around Gary and Jack. Their friendly interactions with Michael alternate between warmth and frostiness, leaving him on edge. What adds to the mystery is Caroline’s continued kindness towards Michael despite her apparent lack of affection for her husband. Every time Michael looks at her, he is haunted by his own past actions.

The accountability for each new instance of violence within the story gradually becomes clear, albeit deliberately so. In the movie’s early scenes, Andrews guides Michael on nocturnal expeditions through various landscapes, subtly concealing violent imagery until it’s revealed at strategic, shocking instances. This could be to rally his followers or retaliate against a father-son duo who appear to be sociopathic. However, as the plot thickens and reveals more about the apparent antagonist, Michael himself appears increasingly unstable, leading all four main characters (five if we count Ray) into a dark narrative filled with grim humor where bloodshed seems almost inevitable.

Despite no characters exhibiting religious or superstitious leanings, the underlying theme of “Bring Them Down” seems ominously fated. Michael’s sheep may be blameless casualties in a larger scheme, yet the lingering suspicion that he might bear some guilt for past transgressions (or at least perceive it as such) is palpable, casting a purgatorial atmosphere over the movie. Simultaneously, the pressures exerted on Michael by his father and on Jack by Gary drive Abbot and Keoghan’s characters towards a confrontation, eliciting subdued yet troubled performances from both actors that escalate into unsettling outbursts at times. Both performers are captivating to observe, skillfully navigating diverse acting styles within the same confined narrative scope, based on the viewpoint the film presents.

Andrew skillfully introduces a layer of implication into his story that appears to be straightforward and literal, leaving the audience questioning unspoken truths, even if the characters themselves may not realize it. For example, Ray is oblivious to Michael’s involvement in his wife’s death, yet he frequently mourns her publicly around him, as if daring him in some way. Similarly, the strained marriage of Caroline and the lingering affection she has for Michael raises questions about Jack’s paternity. Although this issue is never directly addressed, it carries a heavier thematic weight within the film’s exploration of father-son relationships. Both Jack and Michael become victims of their familial circumstances and each other’s self-interest, serving as the focal point in this narrative about inherited violence and enmity.

In the climax of their confrontation, “Bring Them Down” deliberately forgoes the flashy, revenge-oriented aesthetics typically seen in such films, stripping away any intrigue from the escalating feud between the two families. Instead, it emphasizes the raw, unadorned brutality of its violent scenes, thereby portraying its ruthless characters as pitiful by the end. This is because they appear to be mere pawns, forced into their roles by larger forces such as their fathers, lineage, or financial situations, leaving them reduced to squabbling like petulant children. The result is a bleakly humorous and tragically sad film.

2024-09-10 06:46

‘Bring Them Down’ Review: A Blood-Soaked Irish Drama That Lays Low Its Feuding Characters

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