Tim Sutton's artfully directed but self-important downer of a movie that's meant to be some sort of Grand Statement about life among dispossessed whites in rural, Midwestern America.
Donnybrook isn't without its highlights - from its searing performance made even more impressive by their limited material to its gorgeous and grim cinematography - however, it simply feels bleak simply for the sake of bleakness.
The rural and sometimes riveting thriller implodes as predictability takes over. It resembles a film that would have been released by Golan-Globus under Cannon Films in the late 80s/early 90s.
Anchored by a quartet of fierce performances, "Donnybrook" is an intense, visceral tone poem, a rumination on money and drugs and bloodshed as a means of making ends meet in the heartland of modern America.
The downfall of the American dream observed through a hyper violent lens. A tale of brutality and sorrow that lacks an emotional punch. [Full Review in Spanish]
