‘Bring Them Down’ Trailer: Barry Keoghan and Christopher Abbott Are Stuck in Irish Farmland Hell

Barry Keoghan battling Christopher Abbott in his native Irish countryside? No, this isn’t an expansion of Sabrina Carpenter’s “Please Please Please” music video: It’s “Bring Them Down,” writer/director Chris Andrews’ latest revenge drama that premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.

The official synopsis for “Bring Them Down” reads: “Michael (Abbott), the last son of a shepherding family, lives with his ailing father, Ray (Colm Meaney). Burdened by guilt over the death of his mother, Michael has isolated himself from the world. When a conflict with rival farmer Gary (Paul Ready) and his son Jack (Keoghan) escalates, Michael is drawn into a devastating chain of events, forcing him to confront the horrors of his past and leaving both families permanently altered.”

However, the relationship between Abbott and Keoghan’s respective characters is a little more complex: Keoghan’s onscreen mother is Abbott’s ex, and therefore Keoghan is almost a surrogate son turned epitome of the life Abbott could have had. Prior to the two stars being cast, Tom Burke and Paul Mescal were originally set for the lead roles.

The film is co-written by Andrews and Jonathan Hourigan, with Julianne Forde, Jacob Swan Hyam, Ivana MacKinnon, Jean-Yves Roubin, Ruth Treacy, and Cassandre Warnauts producing.

The feature premiered at TIFF before screening at BFI. IndieWire’s Kate Erbland wrote in her review that the title has a double meaning, with Abbott’s Michael having to bring his sheep down from Keoghan’s family property but also referring to how their dual will escalate. “That’s long after everyone involved has decided to bring the other people down, no matter the cost, no matter the pain, no matter the misery,” Erbland wrote. “By the end, we’re all in the muck, all at rock bottom, praying for the tragedy and inhumanity to end. It won’t.”

Abbott will next appear in Blumhouse and Universal’s feature “Wolf Man,” as well as the Netflix adaptation of “East Of Eden” alongside Florence Pugh. Keoghan is believed to next be portraying Ringo Starr in Sam Mendes’ four-part Beatles biopic. Read Keoghan’s recent interview with IndieWire here.

“Bring Them Down” will premiere in theaters on Friday, February 7 from MUBI. Check out the trailer, an IndieWire exclusive, below.