A One Mann’s Movies review of “Bring Them Down” (2024) (From the 2024 London Film Festival).
I first used the review title “X-rated for Sheep” for the 2015 film “Far From the Madding Crowd” with Carey Mulligan. You might remember that this movie starts with a flock of sheep being chased off the cliff at Golden Cap in Dorset by a dog. But believe me, this is NOTHING compared to the fate of some sheep in “Bring Them Down”. For we are in decidedly gritty territory here in a deadly feud between rival Irish farmers.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
“Bring Them Down” Plot Summary:
Michael (Christopher Abbott) is running his family’s sheep-farm since his rough and very-critical father Ray (Colm Meaney) is disabled. But when two of their prize rams have been reported dead by neighbouring farmer Gary (Paul Ready) and his son Jack (Barry Keoghan), Michael smells a rat which leads him into a spiral of deceit and death.
Certification:
UK: NR; US: NR. (At the time of writing, this had not been reviewed by the BBFC but I would expect it to be a ’15’ based on Strong language and violence.)
Talent:
Starring: Christopher Abbott, Barry Keoghan, Colm Meaney, Nora-Jane Noone, Paul Ready.
Directed by: Chris Andrews.
Written by: Chris Andrews. (Based on a story by Chris Andrews & Jonathan Hourigan.)
Running Time: 1h 45m.
“Bring Them Down” Summary:
Positives:
- Gritty and engaging action, cleverly told from two different perspectives.
- Really beautiful Irish mountain scenary.
- A really solid ensemble performance.
Negatives:
- Animal lovers will hate this one.
- I wasn’t convinced by the consistency of Michael’s actions.
Review of “Bring Them Down”:
A ‘small’ and tight little film.
There are only a half-dozen players in this film but the relationships between them are well-established. This is partly through a horrifying flash-back to a car accident. Michael (Christopher Abbott) was the driver and it killed his mother and seriously injured his then girlfriend Caroline (Nora-Jane Noone). Now we flash forward to today and Christopher and his father (Colm Meaney) run one farm and Caroline is now married to Gary (Paul Ready) and has a son Jack (Barry Keoghan).
When the two rams go missing you don’t know what is happening as we share in Michael’s frustration by seeing everything though his eyes. Michael is in utter fear of his father’s temper but also a surprising wimp too: a very human and interesting character. Things go from bad to worse with frightening speed. But just when things reach their zenith we zap back to a broken gate and you realise we are reliving the same events but from the perspective of the other family.
Animal lovers will hate it.
I can’t stress enough how traumatic this film might be to animal lovers. There is severe trauma seen (and even worse, heard) from the sheep affected and another type of animal as well. You have been warned!
Great performances from the cast and the countryside.
This is a great ensemble cast. Barry Keoghan extends his CV with another terrific performance. It’s almost a bit-part in the film at first… but then the perspective switches and he takes centre stage. I should also mention Jack’s cousin Lee played by Aaron Heffernan. Heffernan plays this as a really terrifying psycho character that oozes genuine menace.
Another star of the film is the glorious countryside of the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. Shots across the moors, as Michael is rounding up his flock with the help of Mac the sheepdog, are truly spectacular. The cinematography is by Nick Cooke.
Would Michael really act that way?
The only aspect of an otherwise really gripping and enthralling film that I struggled with is Michael’s motives. As I mentioned before, he appears to be something of an ineffective wimp when standing up to Gary and Jack. And yet, based solely on a demand from his father (which Michael takes very literally) he commits an extreme act of violence that seems rather out of character to what’s gone before. When he finally learns ‘the truth’ (a moment, with a line of dialogue, that actually made me gasp) he goes back to being meek, mild and understanding again, which also then seemed out of character.
Summary Thoughts on “Bring Them Down”
I really enjoyed this one. It was a real thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. This is the debut feature for Chris Andrews as a director (he seems to have cut his teeth mainly on TV camera work). It’s terrific and a drama he should be mighty proud of.
I’m not sure when it will get a general release in UK cinemas, but watch out for it.
Where to Watch it (Powered by Justwatch)
At the time of writing, this film was not available on the Justwatch database.
Trailer for “Bring Them Down”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvYTvaM1MUA.
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