Bring Them Down, the new thriller starring Barry Keoghan and Christopher Abbott, has landed an impressive score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film follows Jack (Keoghan) and Michael (Abbott), two Irish farmers whose bitter and escalating rivalry leads to devastating and increasingly violent consequences in the local community.
Written and directed by Christopher Andrews, Bring Them Down has landed strong reviews ahead of its cinema release (February 7) and subsequent streaming debut on MUBI, scoring an impressive approval rating of 90% on Rotten Tomatoes from its first 50 reviews.
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You can read a selection of reviews below:
Digital Spy
"Andrews does a great job at building up the tension, helped by a steady and menacing percussion-based soundtrack reminiscent of war drums... the themes of generational trauma, toxic masculinity and tradition against modernity are delivered with brutal efficiency if not always depth or precision."
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The Independent
"Shaped like a crime thriller, yet has the sharp ache of tragedy. It unfurls across a landscape beautifully lensed by cinematographer Nick Cooke, yet feels claustrophobic, as if that landscape might suddenly snap its jaws shut and swallow everyone whole."
Chicago Sun Times
"With magnificent performances from the ensemble and a Rashomon technique that tells this horrific and hauntingly vicious story from two sides, Bring Them Down is one of those one-off movies that you owe it to yourself to see once."
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Little White Lies
"It’s a barnstorming feature debut for Andrews, and for Abbott it’s yet more evidence of what a compelling, underrated screen presence he is."
The Daily Beast
"Taut and mournful, it’s a lament for the mistakes made in anger, the wounds that fail to heal, and the past that never truly seems to be past at all."
The Wrap
"The saving grace of the film’s world comes in the form of its two leads who, despite all the drudgery that they must push through, create something gripping."
The Daily Telegraph
"The film brings us down, as well as letting itself down somewhat... the ending too vague. But the jangling escalations of the first half still mark Andrews out as a name to watch."
Bring Them Down is in cinemas on February 7.
Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
