Bring Them Down

'Bring Them Down (2024)' is a bleak tale of rivalry, isolation, bitterness, generational trauma and an escalating cycle of vengeance. Focused on a pair of father-son farming families who find themselves in conflict without ever really knowing who struck the first blow or why (or, even, what counts as the first blow), the feature is essentially one long spiral into tragedy. Each time our lonely protagonist is wronged, we want to see him get retribution, all while knowing that doing so won't end well for anybody. Just when we feel we have a handle on things, the narrative winds back the clock to provide an alternate perspective and essentially reveal the reasons behind its chaotic chain of events. The information the back half presents isn't entirely revelatory, nor does it excuse the behaviour exhibited by its previously more mysterious characters, but it does double down on the sadness at the story's core by showcasing how much of what happens is a product of misguided youth rather than malicious intent. A mistake spirals into more mistakes, an insecurity leads to unspeakable cruelty, a brutal request is fulfilled before it's ever solidified as being expected. Things near the verge of potentially peacefully resolving only when it's already too late to stop them. The wound has been struck, the other eye is sought. The only question is: will mercy finally win? No matter the case, nobody comes out of this unscathed. Everything is irrevocably changed forever, and this downfall comes seemingly out of nowhere. Pettiness costs lives. Revenge satisfies no-one. One's own actions bring them down, and there's no getting back up.

The film is incredibly engaging, with an inky atmosphere and an underlying brutality that contrasts with its gorgeous countryside setting. The performances are pitch-perfect, an amalgamation of anger and toxicity and sadness and loneliness and misguided attempts at making things better. The father lets down the son, just as the son lets down the father. Although Barry Keoghan is great, he's definitely too old for this role; his character is seemingly meant to be a teenager, or in his early twenties at the latest, and so much of what he does is informed by his youthful naiveté. He's much easier to understand if you keep in mind that he's immature, essentially still a child who craves nothing more than a happy family who love him despite his flaws. However, Christopher Abbot is bang on the money, carrying a tangible weight in his every scene and mixing gentleness with a capacity for violence incredibly convincingly. He also does a great job with his accent and Gaelic-language lines, feeling right at home alongside his Irish co-stars (including a grumpy, chair-bound Colm Meaney as his not-very-nice father). The direction is really confident, making excellent use of silence and letting the performers do their magic even when there's no dialogue. The cinematography is really effective at conveying both the beauty and harshness of the environment, and the nighttime sequences toe the line between genuine darkness and necessary clarity remarkably well. The whole affair just has this really realistic texture to it, keeping things grounded even when it's plot is at its most contrived (which isn't very, by the way). It's a compelling, immersive experience and it's made even more impressive by the fact that it's a directorial debut. Comparisons to 'The Banshees Of Inisherin (2022)' are inevitable, but this is by no means a rip-off of that much more (darkly) comedic effort. It's its own beast, and it deserves to be considered as such. It's a tense, downbeat experience that often puts a knot in your stomach and keeps it there, all while conveying a sense of sadness that makes you want to put your arms around almost everyone you see and give them a hug that says "everything's going to be alright". It's a tough watch at times (especially if you're an animal lover), but it isn't dour for the sake of it. It's an entertainingly upsetting drama that keeps you hooked from start to finish.

Sheep sheep lots of sheep sheep those who are stealers of sheep and those who mutilate sheep for monetary benefit believe it or not and a story of a family who has taken care of sheep for 500 years I guess a movie with good actors playing okay here I am Debbie Downer playing dumb roles dumb characters who basically do dumb things and seem to have no ability to make any good decisions nobody in the whole movie makes really a good decision or they make a half baked one and then go to do what they plan but don't really do what they thought they were going to do sounds like real life but this is not like real life it's just kooky and it ends kooky and the protagonist who isn't a bad feller gets the raw end of the sheep I mean of the stick okay of the sheep it's not really a good movie I endured it but I would not recommend it because it goes round and round and ends up as movies seem to do these days nowhere it's a story that didn't need to be told or made into a movie it's quite dissatisfying and if anyone says it's good or worth watching don't believe it don't believe it baaaaa baaaaaaaa baaaa.

We start with a fairly traumatic car accident that goes some way in explaining just why, many years later, the sheep farming "Michael" (Christopher Abbott) is living with his immobile dad (Colm Meaney) and living a fairly unfulfilled life. Their neighbour calls to advise that a couple of his rams have been found dead on their farm and so when he goes to investigate, we meet "Caroline" (Nora-Jane Noone) who used to be his girlfriend before she left him for "Gary" (Paul Ready) and they had son "Jack" (Barry Keoghan). With no evidence of the corpses, he heads to the market to buy replacements only to find that his neighbours haven't been straight with him and that there's quite enough history here to ensure that "Michael" keeps his mouth shut. Meantime, things aren't proving much better for the couple next door as their farm is struggling to pay it's way and when their young son comes up with an unilateral scheme with his thuggish cousin "Lee" (Aaron Heffernan) to raise, rather brutally, some extra cash then things turn violent and dangerous now with just about every element of trust out the window! This isn't a mystery for the squeamish as it highlights some of the real difficulties faced by hill farmers facing financial difficulties trying to make their inhospitable land pay. The story itself here is a bit of a mess, and though it does gradually start to make a little sense towards the end, for the most part it seems a little too thinly stretched and reliant on the time-shifting chronology to tell us an under-characterised story from differing perspectives as the threads rather far-fetchedly come together at the end. It's a fine looking film offering an authentic look at a barely better than subsistence form of life populated by folks suspicious of newcomers and of each other, but I couldn't help but feel this needed a much firmer hand on the storytelling front and Keoghan just too old for the part. Abbott delivers well, and it's still worth a watch - but television in due course ought to be fine.

This movie has a really simple storyline when you look at it overall. But the director's craft and filming style make it much more engaging, and on top of that, it brings a fresh cinematic experience that we don't often see. One of the things I really liked about this film was the music score. They used a sound that resembles a pulsating beat but blended it with a traditional instrumental feel, which added an intense and unique atmosphere to the film. Since the movie is a thriller set in a rural area, the cinematography is stunning. However, there are quite a few handheld camera shots, which make certain scenes feel more immersive. While that works well for some moments, like close up tension-building shots, it does make action sequences like running or car chases harder to follow at times. When it comes to acting, the performances were solid, and Barry's performance stood out as the best in the film. The movie also does a great job of portraying deep emotional struggles-how parental conflicts affect children, the trauma of losing something precious, and how unresolved emotions can push someone into a state of complete mental breakdown. It also highlights the unintended consequences of human ego in a way that feels incredibly raw and real. These are the elements that make this film truly unforgettable.

Bring Them Down: A savage tale of feuding hill farmers, sheep stoen, sheep mutilated, just their legs cut off to be sold. All tied in with a car crash which took place twenty years before but the consequences of which still impinge on pent day events. This was advertised as being partially a comedy but the few comedic moments are bleak and the laughter will likely choke in yiur throat. Not just animals but humans also suffer terrible deaths and injuries. In the second half of the film some of the events we have already observed are revisited and we achieve a clearer understanding of what is really going on. Non-linear narratives often enhance a film but I don't believe it does so in this instance. Good performances from Barry Keoghan, Colm Meaney, Christopher Abbot, Paul Ready and Nora-Jane Noone even if Keoghan is getting a bit long on the tooth to be playing a teenager. Maybe an Irish Hatfields & McCoys or a Beckettian Bog Western. Written and Directed by Christopher Andrews. 7/10.