The film marks a bold debut for Andrews, who won the Douglas Hickox Award for Best Debut Director at the British Independent Film Awards 2024. From the opening scene, we’re confronted with a brutal and uncomfortable fact that sets the tone for what these characters are capable of. Andrews’ approach is raw and direct, yet simultaneously understated. 

A lot is left out–whether unspoken or simply left unresolved. Even the ins and outs of the farming enterprise are left largely unexplained. For example, we are never told explicitly what it means to “bring them down,” why such a move would be avoided for generations, or the exact expense incurred when one or two animals are lost. But what we are given is more than enough to become immersed–to feel the magnitude of each character’s actions and the all-consuming nature of their feud.

The consequences of Michael and Jack’s actions are also highly specific to the insular community on which Andrews has chosen to focus. These are the kind of people who mend their own wounds (injuries most people would seek professional medical attention for) and handle their own affairs without so much as considering recourse to a higher authority (like calling the police). This reinforces the discomfiting sense established at the outset that anything could happen without feeling far-fetched or exaggerated. The film is clearly grounded in reality; it just might not be one we easily recognize.

In discussing the project, Andrews notes two main influences sourced from his personal experience: growing up in Ireland between Catholic and Protestant families, and living under “the long shadow cast by family patriarchs.” What makes these dynamics so dangerous, especially for young men struggling to establish their place in this world, is that there is security and comfort in familiarity.

This speaks to the way these characters gravitate toward what they already know. In one of the calmer moments of the film, Jack and his father, Gary (Paul Ready), are waiting to unload their truck. When Jack asks Gary–“If you had the chance to leave here, would you?”–Gary has difficulty even grasping the question or the idea of living elsewhere. He eventually answers randomly: “Holland” or “Norfolk” due to the lack of hills. Jack repeats that Gary is free to choose anywhere in the whole world. “I can’t afford to go anywhere,” Gary states plainly. “But it’s a fantasy question,” Jack emphasizes. “Oh, right,” Gary says quietly, without offering a new answer.

This failure of imagination, and the subtle ways it manifests itself, makes the film incredibly timely. How can we prevent cycles of violence–of sons turning into their fathers–if we’re unable to conceive of a different way of life than the one we’re already leading? The boldness of the film comes from the fact that it refuses to shy away from identifying these and other culturally-entrenched behaviours as problematic:

One of the questions I wanted to raise in the film was ‘What does it take to start a war and what does it take to end one?’ Wars can start over something so innocuous and small, but it takes humility and empathy, something that is not so simple, to end one. It’s almost inconceivable for people in power to be able to hold their hands up and say sorry–to sacrifice themselves and their own sense of manliness for the greater good.

Bring Them Down is now streaming on MUBI. Watch this and hundreds of other hand-picked films with 30 days free at mubi.com/booooooom.