It’s Fight Club meets The Place Beyond the Pines in director Tim Sutton’s heavy drama, Donnybrook. Set in the outskirts of middle America, the film is a rough examination of living among poverty, crime, and risking it all for a fresh start. Here’s what you need to know.
Eyes on the prize
Based on the novel by Frank Bill, Donnybrook tells the story of Jarhead Earl (Jamie Bell), a former Marine who is passionate about bare-knuckle boxing and willing to do whatever it takes to compete in one of the most infamous underground fights in the country. The $100,000 jackpot offers Jarhead the opportunity to better his life and that of his family, like being able to afford treatment for his drug-addicted wife, Tammy (Dara Tiller). With his eyes on the prize, Jarhead uproots his family from their disheveled motorhome and they make their way toward the Donnybrook, but little do they realize that Tammy’s drug dealers, Chainsaw Angus (Frank Grillo) and his sister Delia (Margaret Qualley) won’t let them skip town that easily.
At this point, Jarhead doesn’t know that Chainsaw is hot on his trail and in a twisted turn of events, an additional party is added to Chainsaw’s pursuit. Police officer James Badge Dale, whose past is as dirty as his typical drunken state, is on a mission to track down Chainsaw and catch this drug-selling felon once and for all.
Blame it on the peacoat’s popped collar
As if the picture hasn’t been painted clearly enough thus far, Donnybrook is a heavy film- lots of blood, death, and booze. Violence runs wild in middle America and in the world of Donnybrook, the outcome is bleak. While this intensity can feel overly showy at times, there was one moment that completely took me out of the movie and, I’ll admit, it’s a silly annoyance: I couldn’t stop staring at Chainsaw Angus’ popped collar on his peacoat. It is so out of place and intentionally stylized in an otherwise disheveled and highly desperate community. Not only that, but I highly doubt that a man who is almost 100% pure muscle, practically machine-built, with a name like “Chainsaw” would be wearing a peacoat.
From the Dark Night to Donnybrook, a bleak portrait of America
In his last feature, Dark Night, Tim Sutton took inspiration from the horrific true events of the Aurora, CO movie theater shooting, where a midnight screening of The Dark Knight turned into a midnight massacre. This docu-drama blurred the lines between reality and fiction, due in large part to the freestyle camerawork and effortless performances. Donnybrook is a much larger production than Dark Night, both in story and scope, but its overarching themes of despair and sadness ring similar. The moody and beautiful color palette create rich images of poverty and desperation, a cinematic juxtaposition at its finest. There is no doubt that Donnybrook is a transfixing film, even if the subject matter is a difficult watch.
Unapologetic and fierce
The physical endurance and emotional depth Jamie Bell reaches throughout the course of the film is truly remarkable. He transforms his body into that of an amateur boxer, his muscles being a point of awe all on their own. For as heavy-handed as Donnybrook is, Bell is the backbone that gives the film a glimmer of hope in the darkest of situations. He is proof that not all of humanity has evil intentions. Unapologetically fierce with an abundance of striking visceral mayhem, Donnybrook is an intense watch that will certainly leave you feeling like you endured nine rounds of emotional gut punches.
Donnybrook is 101 minutes. Opening today at Laemmle Monica Film Center, Arena Cinelounge, and more.
