Mubi has unveiled a new clip from “Bring Them Down,” starring Oscar nominee Barry Keoghan (“Saltburn”) and Christopher Abbott (“Poor Things”), ahead of its Feb. 7 theatrical release in the U.S., U.K., Mexico, Canada and Ireland.
The tense thriller, which marks the feature directorial debut of Christopher Andrews, follows two warring farming families in rural west Ireland. The story centers on Michael (Abbott), a reclusive farmer living with his ailing father Ray (Colm Meaney), whose ongoing conflict with rival farmer Gary (Paul Ready) and his unpredictable son Jack (Keoghan) escalates into a series of increasingly violent confrontations. The cast also includes Nora-Jane Noone (“The Magdalene Sisters”) as Caroline, Susan Lynch (“Ready Player One”) as Peggy, and Aaron Heffernan (“Brassic”) as Lee.
“A tale of fathers, sons, and mutilated sheep, it toys with narrative point of view in ‘Rashomon’-like fashion, but keeps pressing questions of masculinity and cycles of sadness hovering just out of view. Fittingly, like its emotionally stunted male characters, it doesn’t confront these notions head on, but lets them quietly build in the form of a simmering blood feud that feels all-encompassing in the moment, but upon taking a step back, reveals a pitiable quality,” wrote Siddhant Adlakha, reviewing the film for Variety.
The film has already gained significant acclaim on the festival circuit, debuting at Toronto and picking up the Douglas Hickox Award for best debut director at the British Independent Film Awards and the Fipresci Prize at Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival. The film also earned Andrews the best screenplay honor at Rome Film Fest and took home the main competition award for best picture at Fantastic Fest.
Shot on location in Wicklow, Ireland, the film explores themes of toxic masculinity and generational trauma in farming communities. “The pressure on men that live in these communities – not being able to communicate the way that they feel. You just have to grin and bear it,” says Andrews in his directors’ notes for the film. “That is dangerous. That is what leads to dangerous things.”
The film features a score by Emmy-nominated composer Hannah Peel (“Game of Thrones: The Last Watch”) and cinematography by Nick Cooke (“Limbo”). Producers include Ivana MacKinnon (“Beast”), Jacob Swan Hyam, Ruth Treacy, and Julianne Forde.
Watch the clip here:
English (US) ·