Donnybrook (2018) Reviews

• TIFF audience stunned

  richyoungphd2018-10-17

  It was indeed quiet in the Winter Garden Theatre when the credits rolled at TIFF. This is not a movie you cheer for. It's gorgeous and brutal and humble. You exhale when it's done, and you're thankful for your different less desperate way of life. The acting is superb, especially the brave Margaret Qualley. This deserves to be seen

• Don't be fooled by the title, this is not an action movie

  bbretall-12019-02-16

  Donnybrook it is a very dark drama, and well worth seeing. Ex-Marine Bell has a wife who is trying to get off drugs and 2 kids (a boy & a girl). His plan to improve their lot in life is to enter the Donnybrook, a bare-knuckles free-for-all fight contest where the last man standing will walk away with a $100k prize. The acting is superb, particularly Margaret Qualley (daughter of Andie MacDowell), who plays the sister of Frank Grillo's violent drug dealer. The characters in this film are very poor and struggle with violence, drugs, crime, all the things that are often common in the poorer communities across America. The bulk of this film is Bell's journey from his home in a trailer park to the site of the contest, and it's not an easy or straightforward path that he travels. He gets to the donnybrook, but it's the last 15 minutes of the film.

• Very refreshing story

  steve-shaw-622-6735262019-02-25

  You'll either love or hate this story, but it certainly is a fresh and hard-to-forget tale. The acting, in almost every case, was top-notch. The movie's pacing and flow were excellent. Even my wife, who doesn't typically care much for movie violence, remarked that this was one of the best films she's seen in a while. Donnybrook is definitely worth a view. In a world of forgettable flicks, you'll walk away remembering this one.

• What a nice treat

  john-monne2019-02-25

  People who grade this movie anything less then a 6 to me have something wrong with their entertainment value. Acting was good, story was good, sound was good, camera was good..and all that for and still there are people complaining. Maybe movies that are a 90 minutes action scene with "shaky cam" effect are for these people. This is not an action movie, this is a gritty "real life" drama piece that feels good and solid. I really enjoyed it. I would have given this movie an 8, but seeing that there are people giving 3's, i will compensate with a royal 10!

• bleak

  ferguson-62019-02-14

  Greetings again from the darkness. Is it a coincidence that I'm reviewing this moving on Charles Darwin's birthday? "Survival of the fittest" could be the subtitle to writer-director Tim Sutton's bleak film adapted from the novel by Frank Bill. The film would have us believe that, once born into poverty and a hopeless existence, the only daily decisions to be made are: Do I try to survive another day? Should I kill myself? Should I kill someone else? Is that bleak enough for you? Sutton's film provides glimpses of each of the three questions, but mostly it's an expose' on the violence that is generated from a community of poverty, addiction, abuse, and crime. It isn't clear and doesn't matter which of those things comes first ... they all lead down the same path. Jamie Bell plays "Jarhead" Earl, a military veteran looking for an escape route for his young kids and his junkie wife (Dara Tiller). Having a knack for fighting, and an apparent ability to take a beating, Earl decides the only way out is by winning the $100,000 grand prize for the Donnybrook ... a no-rules bareknuckle cage fight. Of course his only route to the entry fee is via armed robbery. Have I mentioned this is bleak? Earl doesn't talk much, but he tries to protect his wife from the local meth dealer, a brutal savage named Angus (Frank Grillo, THE GREY) who has an awkward partnership with his younger sister Delia (Margaret Qualley, NOTIVTIATE) as they make the rounds taking care of business. Angus is the type that resorts to violence in every situation, and we witness his lack of value on human life is just about every scene he is in. Delia is a bit more complicated, as she longs for a way out, and accepts even a momentary reprieve. To top it off, we have a Detective Whalen (James Badge Dale, "The Pacific") who is "chasing" this brother-sister outlaw duo ... well at least he chases them between drug and booze fueled sidetracks. The story takes place in the rural Midwest with towns and people those on both coasts never give much thought. When Earl finally reaches the Donnybrook, we are treated to what appears to be a redneck Burning Man festival where the revelers only stop hooting and beer guzzling long enough to sing the National Anthem while the American flag waves. We are left not knowing if this is a commentary on poverty, male aggression, or the forgotten class. It has some tonal similarities to the excellent OUT OF THE FURNACE, but isn't close to that level. None of filmmaker Sutton's first 3 movies have found much of an audience outside of festivals, and it's a safe bet this one won't either.