Christopher Abbott Delivers a Breakout Performance in 'Bring Them Down'

The destructive and self-perpetuating cycles of revenge and violence might well not be the most novel or groundbreaking topic for cinema these days, but a story doesn’t have to be wholly original for it to be enjoyable or worth telling. There’s still a pleasure to be had from seeing well-trodden paths explored again if they are explored well. Bring Them Down, writer-director Christopher Andrews’ debut feature, is such a story. A sparse, focused film; a Wild West (of Ireland)-style drama of frayed family ties and rural bloodshed exacerbated by economic circumstance, it doesn’t say much new, but what it does, it does effectively.

Starring Christopher Abbott as Michael and Barry Keoghan as Jack, the sons of two farming families, Bring Them Down utilises a split point of view narrative and non-linear device to tell their story, first from Michael’s and then Jack’s, over the course of a few desperate, violent days. Ireland’s own Keoghan might well be the talk of the town at the moment—and deservedly so!—but it’s Abott here who, in the lead role, impresses the most.

We’re not told all that much about the characters in Bring Them Down. What little, fundamental exposition there is happens quite organically. Most of what we find out about everyone is through their actions and body language, and Abbott crafts a surprisingly deep and sympathetic portrayal of a man of few Gaelic words and even fewer English words. Without going into detail, the first act we see Michael perform in the film-which is in fact the very first scene-is a quite shocking bit of violence, and it’s a bold move on the filmmakers’ choice to open in such a way, and to then patiently ask us to understand how this violence might have come about. From Martha Marcy May Marlene, to the likes of Black Bear and Sanctuary, Christopher Abbott has been putting in reliably good work while flying relatively under the radar for almost two decades. Bring Them Down is the opposite of a showy performance, but it deserves to bring him to a wider audience.

Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival on 8 September 2024 before being more widely released by Mubi, this is a very promising theatrical debut for writer-director Christopher Andrews. Its emotional grounding is mirrored by the raw, earthy texture of its West Irish landscapes. The morning fog rolls over the hills there, obscuring the horizon as much as the moral grey areas depicted in the film’s story. There are no easy answers to the deep, entrenched problems presented here. Glimmers of hope and escape are few and far between, yet Bring Them Down avoids falling into a miserabilist slog.