Bring Them Down is the first film directed by Christopher Andrews. It starts with a shocking scene that shows brutal violence, which symbolizes the rest of the film. Michael (played by Christopher Abbott, though his face is not shown) is driving on an Irish road.
His mother, Peggy (Susan Lynch), sits in the passenger seat, while his girlfriend, Caroline (Grace Daly), is in the back seat.
Everything seems normal until Peggy shares her news: she is leaving Michael’s father, Ray (Colm Meaney). After meeting Ray, it becomes clear why she wants to leave.
She tells Michael that Ray terrifies her. Instead of responding to his mother’s news, Michael presses the gas pedal.
He ignores the frantic pleas from Peggy and Caroline until the car crashes. This moment shows how anger drives him without any thought for the consequences.
A Cycle of Anger and Revenge
Bring Them Down is filled with moments where anger takes control. Michael’s actions in the opening scene create a chain reaction of revenge, anger, and grief for those around him. Poor decisions lead to more poor decisions.
The film shows that fury and vengeance are complicated and based on feelings, not clear thinking. Andrews, who wrote the film with Jonathan Hourigan, focuses on this kind of angry revenge. However, it reminds us that revenge often feels good at the moment but leaves you feeling empty in the long run.
The Impact of the Accident
After the car crash, Bring Them Down jumps ahead in time to show how the event affects the community and people close to Michael.
Caroline, now played by Nora-Jane Noone, carries a visible scar on her face. She has started a family with her sheep farmer husband, Gary (Paul Ready), and their son, Jack (Barry Keoghan).
While Caroline seems friendly with Michael, her family holds resentment toward him. Michael runs the sheep farm next to Caroline’s family farm, which brings them closer together.
Michael’s father, Ray, is now mostly unable to move from his chair, leaving bottles of his urine for Michael to clean up at the end of the day. Ray often yells at Michael and mourns his wife, not knowing how Peggy died.
Still from Bring Them Down (Credit: Mubi)
Michael spends most of his days alone, taking care of the sheep. However, one day, Gary and Jack call him and Ray to say that two of their rams have ended up on their property and are now dead.
This news brings long-hidden anger between the two families back to the surface, as both want to take revenge for their losses.
Strong Performances Drive the Story
Bring Them Down mainly works because of its two main characters, even though they are somewhat miscast. Abbott plays Michael as a quietly intimidating character who has always held onto his rage. He portrays this type of character well, making his outbursts more impactful.
Keoghan is also skilled at playing unsettling characters, making him an unpredictable and somewhat foolish person. Putting these two against each other creates a powerful conflict since both characters are volatile and erratic.
However, the film tries to make us believe that Abbott’s Michael could be Jack’s father, showing what he could have had if he had not ruined his relationship with Caroline. The small age difference between the two actors makes this connection less clear.
Andrews also uses violence sparingly but effectively. When violence occurs, it shocks the audience, similar to how Jeremy Saulnier uses brutality in films like Blue Ruin or Green Room.
The violence is never neat, serving as another example of acting without thinking about the consequences.
Andrews builds up to these moments but still surprises us with horrific acts against the backdrop of beautiful scenery captured by cinematographer Nick Cooke.
Staying Within One Emotion
Despite its effective violence and strong performances, Bring Them Down does not go beyond being a standard revenge thriller.
There are smart choices, such as shifting from Michael’s perspective to Jack’s perspective later in the film, which shows a different side of the story.
However, it does not add up to much full. While it is exciting to watch the conflict between the two families, the film does not reach greatness, even though it hints at something deeper.
Like its characters, Bring Them Down keeps moving forward, introducing new challenges and chances to go further into this dark story. However, it lacks a clear purpose or satisfying conclusion.
Bring Them Down stays focused on pain and the grief that comes with it, creating an unavoidable sense of misery.
Andrews and Hourigan’s script remains in this sorrow without seeking to show beyond this emotion, which weighs down both the characters and the audience.
Still from Bring Them Down (Credit: Mubi)
The film successfully showcases strong performances from Abbott, Keoghan, and Meaney, as well as Andrews’ ability to build tension and create shocking moments of violence.
For Andrews, Bring Them Down is a capable and interesting debut, but it needs more depth than this revenge story can provide.
“Bring Them Down,” directed by Christopher Andrews, shows themes of anger and revenge after a tragic car accident involving Michael and his family.
The film reveals how the event impacts the characters over time, particularly Caroline, who suffers lasting effects. Strong performances highlight the emotional weight, but the film struggles to transcend its standard revenge thriller format.
When The Walking Dead started in 2010, it quickly became a favorite show on TV. The reason for its popularity was not just the zombies, but the strong human characters.
Rick (Andrew Lincoln) was the leader, but the team of characters kept viewers engaged for eleven sometimes slow seasons.
This group included Glenn (Steven Yeun), Maggie (Lauren Cohan), and the close friends, Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) and Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride).
Daryl and Carol are back together, ready for action once again. While the show has its usual flaws, having Daryl and Carol at the center makes it entertaining.
Laurent is smart and kind, treated like a savior by a group called the Union, led by a man named Losang (Joel de la Fuente).
Daryl must also face a woman named Marion Genet (Anne Charrier), who leads a military group creating powerful walkers.
The Book of Carol begins with Daryl hiding with the Union in their island stronghold. Meanwhile, Carol is in America at the Commonwealth. Acting on “a hunch,” as she puts it, Carol goes searching for Daryl.
She learns that Daryl has been taken on a ship to France. In the last season, Daryl wanted to return home, and now Carol is determined to help him.
The challenge is that she needs a way to cross the Atlantic Ocean to reach France. Just as Carol and the audience realize this, she sees a small plane flying overhead.
She tracks it down to a man named Ash (Manish Dayal), a lonely man living on land where he keeps walkers away. Ash and Carol share a similar tragic past, and Carol knows she must use this to convince Ash to fly her to France to find her friend.
‘The Book of Carol’ Has the Same Flaws As Other ‘Walking Dead’ Shows
After the first few excellent seasons of The Walking Dead, the series fell into a pattern that caused ratings to drop each season. The formula is well-known: the heroes walk and talk, fight walkers, talk more, meet villains, get captured, battle the bad guys, and win, then repeat.
Yes, Carol finds someone with a plane quickly and easily, but that has to happen for the story. Yes, it seems unrealistic that a small plane could fly from America to France, but it’s necessary for the adventure to happen.
The weakest part of The Book of Carol, as often seen in The Walking Dead, is its villains. In the original series, each season introduced new villains, but outside of Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and The Governor (David Morrissey), most did not feel like significant threats.
Marion, with her weapons and followers, is also a threat. We see more of her plan to create powerful walkers, along with her tragic backstory, where she was just a worker at the Louvre when the outbreak began.
The Book of Carol adds tension by presenting two groups of villains against each other, with Daryl, Carol, Isabelle, Laurent, and their allies caught in the middle. However, viewers know Daryl and Carol will be safe, which reduces some suspense.
Still from The Walking Dead Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol (Credit: AMC+)
There are many scenes where bad guys are left alive to return later, or where our favorite characters are captured, only for someone to save them at the last moment. This predictability takes away some tension because the resolution feels obvious.
Daryl and Carol Are Paired With Two Great Supporting Characters
Like the rest of The Walking Dead, repetitive plots and weak villains are balanced by strong lead characters. Ash is a good man we can trust, and we hope he will move past his pain and show with Carol. We also have reasons to question Carol, who lies and manipulates people with good intentions to get what she wants.
This complexity makes Carol more interesting, as she is not just a typical good character. Carol and Ash have great chemistry, but once they reach France, they get separated for several episodes. Just as we start to understand Ash, he disappears, making him feel like just a plot device.
This is disappointing for a well-written character, but thankfully, it gets resolved later with a development that deepens their relationship with Carol. We also have reasons to question Carol, who lies and manipulates people with good intentions to get what she wants.
This complexity makes Carol more interesting, as she is not just a typical good character. Carol and Ash have great chemistry, but once they reach France, they get separated for several episodes. Just as we start to understand Ash, he disappears, making him feel like just a plot device. T
Laurent remains intriguing as well. A child written to be a Savior could have been annoying, but Laurent is shown as a kind soul who believes in others without feeling special himself.
He just wants to be a child and sees Daryl as a father figure. Watching the tough Daryl grow closer to Isabelle and bond with Laurent is enjoyable, even though we know Daryl may not earn happiness.
Now, let’s talk about what you really want: the reunion of Daryl and Carol. It takes some time, but when it happens, it brings chills and maybe even tears. The writer wanted a more emotional reunion, but instead, they quickly fall back into their old friendship, as if Daryl expected Carol to show up.
They are as close as ever, and there is no risk of a romantic relationship ruining their bond. The two friends get back to their usual action, trying to defeat Marion, save Laurent, and return to America all at once.
Still from The Walking Dead Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol (Credit: AMC+)
Although their journey has the familiar frustrations of The Walking Dead, it involves our favorite characters, so we can overlook these issues. Furthermore, the finale includes a twist that sets up another season with Daryl and Carol together. What more could fans wish for?
