Writers and Director: Christopher Andrews
Despite its title, Bring Them Down is not a cheerleader comedy but an intense sheep-rustling drama from Irish writer-director Christopher Andrews about rival farmers who resort to extreme violence to resolve their inter-generation contention. Appearing in the BFI London Film Festival’s Official Competition the slow-burn anger and resentment between neighbours is well managed as an escalation of activities takes them closer towards an inevitable destruction.
Farmer Michael manages his sheep farm on behalf of his invalided father who still insists on his rights as the farm owner, but when two rams are stolen believed killed by the neighbouring farmer, old resentments reopen between the families. When Michael spots his rams for sale at the local market, a process of escalation begins leading to bloody confrontation and a reckoning for all.
The duel narrative approach that Andrews employs in Bring Them Down is well managed, subtly shifting from Michael’s perspective, to that of Jack who shows the audience scenes from the story from a different perspective, one that is both psychologically revealing and brings clarity to plot points. It is a strong approach and while it delivers little in the way of explanation for the extreme character reactions – typically violent for Irish film – the two perspectives fit neatly into one another to bring about the resolution.
Andrews is clear about the hard but sometimes beautiful experience of life in this rural, mountainous community, looking after animals in all weathers and after dark when Michael has to traverse a rocky mountain path to rescue one of his lost sheep – and it is notable that Michael is far kinder to his animals than to other people. But brace yourself for scenes of sheep mutilation and animal body parts that are grim reflections of the sheep rustling trade and its financial compensations.
As Michael, Christopher Abbott is dour and often silent in the management of the farm, spending little time at home with his gruff father (a cold Colm Meany) who starts an argument every time the men are together. Andrews never really digs into Michael’s pain, a teenage incident has shaped his perspective but the vengeful brutality that emerges in him is interesting. Barry Keoghan plays another essentially violent young man, Jack, unable to fight an urge to do bad things and his presence in the film ups the ante in terms of the scale of the retribution.
Bring Them Down refers to the practice of walking the sheep down the mountain to the local field, something that Michael’s family hasn’t done for 500 years his father claims. The effectiveness of that decision plays out in the film’s second half when the Greek tragedy level response strains a little at the feuding neighbours premise – if Michael really hasn’t been to Gary’s farm in 20 years why does this incident of all the probable times they have clashed in that time push him over the edge? But Andrews makes the path through these rugged mountain lives worth watching.
Bring Them Down is screening at the BFI London Film Festival 2024.
