The grudges and guilt in this corner of rural Ireland are deeply rooted. The men who have farmed this land for generations protect their grievances as fiercely as they do their traditions, in this muscular English- and Irish-language tale of blood feuds and revenge. Michael (American actor Christopher Abbott, who learned to speak Irish for the film), lives in an uneasy amnesty alongside his sour-spirited bully of a father (Colm Meaney) and the nagging reminders of his own youthful mistakes. Sheep farmers, they share the highland grazing area with a neighbouring farm run by hot-headed Gary (Motherland’s Paul Ready, unrecognisable and frankly rather terrifying), his reckless son Jack (Barry Keoghan) and Gary’s wife, Caroline (Nora-Jane Noone), who happens to be Michael’s former lover. It’s a tricky coexistence at the best of times, but financial pressures, a pair of stolen rams and a disagreement over a gate ignite the long-simmering tensions.
Bring Them Down is an impressive first feature from Christopher Andrews, who won the 2024 Bifa for best debut director – a bruising tale of vengeance accompanied by a savage, percussive score by Hannah Peel that sounds as though it was played on scrap metal and abandoned farm machinery.
Article by:Source: Wendy Ide
