Christopher Andrews’ debut feature, Bring Them Down that world premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, follows the gripping rivalry between two rival farmer families in rural west Ireland.
The thriller was also screened at the 68th BFI London Film Festival and won The Douglas Hickox Award for Best Debut Director award at the 2024 British Independent Film Awards.
Bring Them Down stars Barry Keoghan, Christopher Abbott, Colm Meaney, Nora-Jane Noone, Paul Ready, Aaron Heffernan, and Susan Lynch.
Release Date
Directed by Christopher Andrews, Bring Them Down opens in Mexican theaters on February 6, 2025, and across North America, the UK, and Ireland on February 7, 2025.
Synopsis
Michael, the last son of a shepherding family, lives with his ailing father, Ray. When a conflict with rival farmer Gary and his son Jack escalates, a devastating chain of events leaves both families permanently altered.
“It was always about the absence of a parent and the influence that can have on a person or a family. I lost my father when I was quite young and that spectre of his being has always been ever present over my life for good and for bad,” says director Christopher Andrews in an interview with Directors Notes. “So it was the idea of a missing parent mixed in with this idea of toxic masculinity and what is passed down. I was trying to weave both things into the same story, having this female figure that is now missing who was the linchpin that held them together. She was the barrier, the dam that stopped the toxicity from becoming all-encompassing and now without her it is all-encompassing.”
Reviews
Jordan Mintzer in a Hollywood Reporter review praised the film, writing, “Bring Them Down is so grim that it can be something of a chore to sit through. But there’s enough tension and underlying adrenaline to keep one hooked for at least an hour. Andrews does a great job directing his two stars, who both bring some humanity to characters caught in a nasty cycle of violence and vengeance. Abbott immerses himself in a role that requires him to speak fluent Gaelic (perfectly credible to these untrained ears) not to mention get himself caked in layers of dirt and blood. Keoghan, who’s always a fascinating performer to watch, turns Jack into a fragile young man whose moral conscience has been worn down by so many years of poverty, isolation and toxic masculinity.”
Brian Tallerico in a RogerEbert.com review also praised the film and the lead performances, writing, “The relentless tone of “Bring Them Down” feels a bit monotonous to this viewer, but it’s worth seeing just for the work of Abbott and Keoghan. I’ve long thought Abbott to be one of his generation’s most consistently nuanced actors. Still, Keoghan steals this one, proving that his range is greater than the “troublemaker” role he’s sometimes stereotyped into. This part could have been just tics and drama, but Keoghan finds a vein of melancholy, a sense that he doesn’t want to be a part of this violent, threatening world anymore. He’s so riveting that the thin plotting of “Bring Them Down” fades away; we’re simply watching an actor fully disappear into his character.”
Official Trailer
Watch the official trailer for Bring Them Down.
