A feud, bloodshed and bitter revenge served cold (quite literally) unravel in the quiet corners of West Ireland. Bring Them Down's rustic setting is secluded – but in spite of this, the film certainly doesn't lack in dramatic moments. 

There are some subtle and more direct hints of the negative impact toxic masculinity and emotional repression can have on men. The writer and director, Christopher Andrews, doesn't initially highlight this head on, but allows the events to gradually unfold, building in intensity like an uncomfortable crescendo. 

We follow Michael (Christopher Abbott), who runs his shepherding family's business as his father, Ray's, (Colm Meaney) health declines. The haunting memories of a car accident Michael caused years prior, which claimed his mother's life and injured his ex-girlfriend Caroline, (Nora-Jane Noone), continue to linger. The latter is a little harder to ignore when Caroline lives on the farm next door and is married to Gary (Paul Ready). The pair are parents to Jack (Barry Keoghan). Understandably, hostility already exists between the two families, but that tension rapidly begins to further escalate when some of Michael's sheep go missing. 

Parenthood or the lack of a parent figure is a pivotal undercurrent in the narrative. Ahead of his film being released in cinemas, Christopher Andrews told FILMHOUNDS that his life has significantly changed since he began working on the project almost a decade ago. “It's extraordinary, I didn't have a kid, but I've now got two,” he adds. Since becoming a father, Andrews adds that not passing on inherited trauma is something at the forefront of his mind, something that the characters Gary and Jack could learn a thing or two about. 

Andrews is of Irish heritage but was brought up in the North of England. “Growing up you didn't talk about your feelings, you just pushed it down,” he comments. As the story unravels, the male characters' callous tendencies and violent ways quickly erupt on screen. Rather than talking honestly about their grievances, they resort to aggression. 

When digging under the surface about how parenthood is portrayed in the film, Andrews reveals that his intention was to partly disentangle the feelings he had towards his father and grandfather. His dad passed away when he was young, and he “found it interesting how someone who wasn't present” still had a profound impact on his life, he says. This is also channelled through Michael and the relationship he had with his mother. Despite his mum not being alive anymore, her presence hovers over him and plays a role in how he interacts with others. Something he can't ignore.

The internal conflict of being kind or hateful is ever present in the film. We see how kindness comes easier to some, such as Caroline, who despite Michael injuring her, is nothing but warm. Whereas Jack seems to wrestle with the two states of mind. On the other hand, Gary and Michael gravitate more towards being hateful and unhinged. The pair utilise vengeance to try and remedy sticky situations, causing scenarios to spiral out of control. 

But who is in the wrong in Andrews's directorial debut? As a self-professed fan of revenge films, for the writer/director it's not that simple. “I don't like the idea of thinking I have an answer, as my experience of life isn't that,” he adds. Andrews would much prefer to pose the question to the audience and for them to decipher who is absolved from blame. One thing Andrews does strongly believe in is that “we all have a responsibility to treat each other with more care and kindness. You can make small changes, that lead to bigger changes and start to make the world a more harmonious place to live.”

A notable element of Bring Them Down is the frequent Irish dialogue that some characters use throughout the narrative. “When we decided to make the film in Ireland, Irish needed to be part of the process,” Andrews comments. In preparation for the film, the writer/director spoke to farmers and shepherds along the west coast of Ireland and they all replied to him in the Gaelic language. That cemented for him that language would play a crucial role in shaping his characters. Interestingly, Gary can't speak Irish, whereas Michael, Caroline, and Ray can – heightening the stakes in the central conflict between the two families which drive the film. For Andrews, it was also about the “protection of culture” and displaying the poetic nature of the Irish language. 

Before it's even hit the big screen, Bring Them Down, has already garnered multiple nominations and awards, including a BIFA for the Best Directorial Debut for Andrews. The award was on his mantelpiece as we were chatting. Andrews exclaims he genuinely wasn't expecting to take home the BIFA. “I don't remember what I said when I accepted the award. I hadn't prepared anything.” He tells FILMHOUNDS that his partner was whispering in his ear who he had to thank just as he was about to walk to the stage. 

The filmmaker exclaims, that being longlisted felt like an award within itself. “You always hope you've done something that people are going to respond to and like.” But from that moment the film premiered at TIFF “and Barry [Keoghan] and Colm [Meaney] saw it for the first time and everyone responded so warmly towards it, it's just been magical,” he beams. The posters on the side of buses in Ireland are the cherry on top for Andrews. 

And what does he want people to feel after watching Bring Them Down? Compassion, hope and love in their hearts – three things that are absent in the callous world within the Irish revenge story. 

“The intention is to put you [the audience] through the ringer, so when you come out the other end you feel like you want to try harder with those that you love and those that you live with.”

Bring Them Down is in UK and Irish Cinemas from February 7

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