Jarhead Earl (Jamie Bell) is an Iraq war veteran who has fallen on hard times. He hustles to make ends meet in his Ohio trailer park. Jar is a scrapper. His best hope for changing his fate is to enter a fight called the Donnybrook. This caged brawl pays out a $100,000 prize for whoever is left standing. Jar commits an armed robbery to raise the thousand dollar entry fee. He served in Iraq with Angus (Frank Grillo). Angus runs meth labs with is sister Delia (Margaret Qualley). Jar's wife struggles with addiction. His confrontation with Angus is nearly fatal when he discovers Angus supplying drugs to his wife. The conflict sets the stage for escalation. Jar sets out on a journey to the Donnybrook, only to find himself haunted by his own ghosts.
Donnybrook intrigued me, but the story could have been delivered better. The characters were not engaging. That was a foundational flaw that hurt this story from the outset. The story was choppy, with a short journey stretched out to epic length. Most importantly, I was a bit perturbed by the messaging. It seemed to be saying that war veterans are all dysfunctional, rural Caucasians are all Nazis (and/or meth heads), and cops are all corrupt. The film also managed to slip in some class warfare. The package is wrapped in sexuality and violence. Oh, did I forget to mention the incest angle? Yeah, that stereotype managed to work its way in as well. The story is contrived, with very little substance holding the film together. It is a journey-story. Very predictable. This type of story relies on strong characters. But Writer/Director Tim Sutton utterly failed to deliver on that part.
I like Jamie Bell. He has been in some strong films. Snowpiercer is among my favorite that he has been in. His performance was okay, but his character lacked the qualities to make him engaging. I love Margaret Qualley. She grabbed my attention in Novitiate with an amazing performance. I am apparently not the only one who loves her. She has six or seven films in the works. As does Frank Grillo, who plays the antagonist in this film. I am not a big fan of Grillo, but he has been getting steady work. With this cast, this film had potential. Unfortunately, it was overdone. It became a caricature rather than a character study. Disappointing waste of talent.
Donnybrook is rated R by the MPAA. The film has plenty of violence, which lies at the heart of this rating. The film centers on dysfunction, which creates plenty of objectionable material. A young girl has sex with a man before killing him. She also shoots her brother as well as approaching him sensually a couple of times. A police officer does drugs and drinks on duty. The film includes an undercurrent of drugs, to include the aftermath of a meth lab fire. The violence extends to the suggestion that a child has been murdered, although the reason is never really explored. In sum, this film has plenty of adult themes and subject matter. To include full-frontal nudity of a female character. I would put my recommendation in the mid-teens. Run time is one hour, 41 minutes.
Donnybrook started with a reasonable premise. "People like us have to fight to have anything." A line that is meant both literally as well as figuratively. It is about surviving and trying to get ahead while fighting poverty. What we get is a film filled with unfair stereotypes and endless dysfunction. It would work in a comedy. Say, "whitesploitation" if such a thing existed. If intended as a caricature, it would have made more sense. Instead, we get a bleak picture of rural America that fits a liberal narrative. The average person appears to be nazi, redneck, meth-addicted, incestuous, violent and patriotic. It was an odd combination of qualities that turned this choppy, slow-paced, pretentious film into a joke. Not recommended. 4/10.
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