Bring Them Down is a well-crafted and unsettling revenge tragedy for the new age. It tells the story of a family severed by grief, whose misperceptions of each other set into motion a series of events that could lead to the destruction of their livelihoods, and even their lives.

Christopher Abbott, as Michael, son to the family patriarch and shepherd of the family’s livestock, plays this role impeccably. Michael is capable of great violence, but Abbott imbues with much-needed tenderness. Likewise, this is Barry Keoghan’s best performance to date. He embodies Michael’s nephew Jack, who the viewer is directed to loathe for the majority of the film, with a delicate balance of juvenile vulnerability and thick-headedness.

Director Christopher Andrews flexes his storytelling prowess by making the very astute choice to split the film between Michael and Jack’s perspectives, allowing the viewer to sit with each character for an extended period of time, thus challenging our empathy for them, and the veracity of their hatred for one another - repeating certain shots and visual symbolism, but building upon their context so that, by the end of the intricate narrative, we find ourselves rooting for everyone. Andrews has delivered a wonderful contribution to Irish national cinema, and a compelling thriller in its own right.