Bring Them Down Review
In Fantastic Fest 2024 feature BRING THEM DOWN, Christopher Abbott plays Michael (Mikey) might-as-well-call-him-Danny-boy, a shepherd with a dark past forced into violence in this gripping domestic thriller. The film opens with one of the most heart-wrenching introductions to a character I’ve ever seen, taking the popular horror movie trope of opening a film with a car accident (Get Out, Final Destination, The Descent, etc., etc., etc.) and turning it on its head. Barry Keoghan is an Irish teenager with a chip on his shoulder. Colm Meaney (Star Trek’s Chief O’Brien) is a disabled father who speaks only in Gaelic out of stubbornness, rounding out this cast of talented male actors in a film on the perils of toxic masculinity.
Michael is a shepherd in rural Ireland who is down on his luck after an accident results in the death of his mother and injury to his girlfriend, Caroline (Nora-Jane Noone). What he hasn’t told his bearish father is that his mother meant to leave his father. When a feud breaks out between neighboring sheep farmers, the wife of which is his former girlfriend, Michael is forced to take matters into his own, somewhat unhinged hands.
Christopher Abbott is fantastically riveting as what the director calls a “stoic, mythical character” (The Wrap) despite not being Irish. While the role would be somewhat more convincing with an Irish actor, Abbott’s performance is convincing and, for me, reminiscent of Ryan Gosling’s darker roles. The audience yearns for Mikey to act out his revenge after the death of his flock of sheep.
Meanwhile, Barry Keoghan is satisfyingly annoying and yet timelessly soft as Jack, the son of Caroline. Halfway through the film, we flip to his point of view, and the empathy he brings to the character is nuanced and delightful.
One of my favorite storytelling structures, and one particularly effective in horror, is the “slippery slope” — where a situation is played out to its absolute worst and inevitable end. BRING THEM DOWN does just that, answering the question of what happens when you push a man to his breaking point, and an Irish man at that.
Loosely based on a true story, the film is rife with animal violence. It calls to mind the parable of the good shepherd, where Jesus likens his role as a savior to the shepherd: The good shepherd is willing to die for his sheep. But for those who can’t endure animal violence, this film should have a trigger warning. Be warned. Several traumatic scenes of animal death are almost too difficult to watch.
Against this violence, the cinematography, writing, and aesthetic from debut director Christopher Andrews are spot-on, showcasing the dark closeness of the Irish countryside painted in swaths of misty greens and blues — which serve as a beautiful contrast for the touches of blood as the film descends into a dark look at the human soul. Resentment, miscommunication, and domestic abuse drape the story in emotion.
The theme here is toxic masculinity. Who it hurts, who it kills, and who it destroys. The stereotypes of Irish masculinity — alcoholism, domestic violence, and closed-off emotions, are explored with empathy. As always, as inevitable as it is, toxic masculinity hurts men as much as it does women.
It is a difficult but nuanced film that will capture the audience’s hearts. Far from funny and a gripping watch. Let’s hope this gets wider distribution, STAT.
[image error]Bring Them Down Review was originally published in Interstellar Flight Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
