In various generations of film, there have also been many generations of actors who have broken on to the scene and eventually became the big stars in the business. The moneymakers and the shotcallers in the movie industry. Two of the up and coming actors who are on the cusp of becoming massive stars are Christopher Abbott and Barry Keoghan. They’ve mainly been cast in supporting roles or leading roles in little indie films. Now, like a lot of the big stars in the business they’ve been cast in the same film. That movie is Bring Them Down from Mubi. It’s not a film for the faint of heart. In fact, if you’re squeamish about blood and gore, you may not like this movie at all. 

The crux of this story, which is set in Ireland, is this. It deals with a paraplegic sheepherder, played by Colm Meaney, and his son, played by Christopher Abbott. When two of their sheep go missing and end up in the hands of their neighbors, it becomes a problem for the father and son. The neighbor, played by Paul Ready, has come on hard times so he and his son, played by Barry Keoghan, decide to keep the two sheep and sell them to make some money for their family. They lie to the neighbor about the two sheep being dead. The problem is that this doesn’t go over well with the sheepherder’s family. This causes a feud between the two families.

Christopher Andrews, the co-writer and director of the film, gives it multiple layers for audiences to digest. The first is that he splits the story into two parts. One from the perspective of the Abbott and Meaney characters and the other from the point of view of the Keoghan and Ready characters. I liked this way of telling the story from two different points of view. I was able to fully understand the story completely that way. 

The second layer is that the characters are coming from two different lifestyles connected by an ex-lover of Abbott’s character. A framing device shows the trauma this character is dealing with and why his girlfriend at the time ended up with another man. There is still some resentment there.  The haves and have-nots are a big thing in this story. Those who have are happy to some extent and those who don’t have want what the others have. That’s been a thing for generations no matter what country you live in. Greed is a nasty business, and it creates a lot of problems in this story.

Christopher Abbott is coming off of a lackluster reception for his Blumhouse Wolf Man film a few weeks back, but he has shown me he is ready for the big time. His roles in smaller films like Possessor, It Comes At Night and Sanctuary have  proven to me he is  a star in waiting. He can emote better than most actors in the business right now. His role in this film is one that shows that as well. He is a man on a mission and he won’t be stopped by anyone until he achieves his goal that his father asked him to do. Unfortunately it may not be what he was supposed to do. This story has those kinds of tough circumstances that go on. It’s tough for everybody involved.

Barry Keoghan is another younger actor who has started to come into his own in roles in movies like Saltburn, The Banshees of Inisherin, and his latest role in Bird, another Mubi film.  He has a smaller role in this story, but the split story shows where his character goes regarding his journey from beginning to end of the story. He plays the conflicted man very well. That’s the main aspect of who he is in this story. He’s caught in the middle between his father and his rival. That’s a tough spot to be in as an actor. He could have asked for a bigger role but settled on the supporting role. Like his other films he’s been in, he excels at the supporting role.Keoghan makes this like every other performance he gives, small or large, his own. Together, he and Abbott make for a fantastic duo on opposing sides of this revenge story. They are the reason worth seeing this movie.

[Spoiler Warning] A reason I would say not to see this film, unless you’re very unbothered by blood and gore, is there is some animal abuse in this film. If that’s a no-go for you or one of your family members who may watch this with you, then I suggest you shouldn’t watch this movie. It’s very difficult from that point of view. I was taken aback by what I saw because I didn’t expect it. It was very shocking, to say the least. I’m not condoning this kind of thing in films, but it was the main plot point that got the revenge elements of the story moving forward. That being said, it was quite difficult for me to watch and not turn away from.

Bring Them Down refers to the sheep coming down off the hill in this rural Irish countryside. It has a multiple meaning though referring to the behavior of the characters. This revenge story has many layers to it and for that I do recommend the film. Also for the two fantastic performances from Abbott and Keoghan. Andrews uses some questionable plot devices to get to the bottom of this story, but in the end they worked for me. Even though I was very disgusted by the blood and gore that got the story moving forward. This movie isn’t for the squeamish or faint of heart.

Bring Them Down streams on Mubi February 7th

½ stars

Dan Skip Allen