Having played a werewolf in ‘Wolf Man’ treating his family as lambs to the slaughter actor Christopher Abbott now takes on the role of sheep protector in Bring Them Down in writer-director Christopher Andrew’s turf war drama.
Set in a remote and bleak West Ireland is Michael (Abbott) a sheep farmer living with his father Ray (Colm Meaney) confined to the house because of his troublesome legs and knees that sees him sat at the kitchen table berating his son each day when he returns home having tended to their flock. It’s not difficult to see why Ray’s wife divorced him as explained in the opening scene as she tells Michael and his sister that ends in a serious car accident. It’s sets the grim and dark tone for what is to follow.
Michael’s sister Caroline (Nora-Jane Noone) is now married to another shepherd Gary (Paul Ready) an embittered and spiteful man who has embroiled their son Jack ( Barry Keoghan) into a petty bit of theft when they steal two rams from Michael’s flock. It very quickly escalates into an extremely violent conflict that spirals out of all control with little hope of mediation. It’s not just Ray who doesn’t have a leg to stand on but the flock of sheep themselves in one particularly distressing scene as Jack and his friend lay waste to Michael’s flock so the flocks hind legs can be sold for cheap meat. This can only end badly for both of the families.
Bring Them Down sees both families in a spiral of destruction set against a bleak back drop and a discordant and at times experimental soundtrack. At the centre of this are the expected high end performances from both Abbott and Keoghan and matched by Meaney, Ready and Noone (excellent in the low budget, ‘Wildfire’) all with the sort of accent that would make any rendition of Pharell Williams, ‘happy’ sound like a funeral dirge.
Ultimately this is a small scale examination of familial strife, petty rivalries and toxic masculinity spun wildly out of control with little chance of reconciliation or any way out of the life they have chosen to lead. It’s a dour, downbeat film but it’s the central performances that compel.
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Here’s the Bring Them Down trailer……
