I have not read the Frank Bill novel that provides “Donnybrook” with its story, but I assume it is far more fleshed out than the thin plot skeleton of Sutton’s adaptation. Perhaps the luxury of the written word and hundreds of pages provided more information on Jarhead Earl (Jamie Bell), Chainsaw Angus (Frank Grillo) and Angus’ sister, Delia (Margaret Qualley). On screen, they’re presented as underdeveloped, one-note and perplexing respectively. Earl needs $1,000 to enter the Donnybrook fighting contest, where the $100,000 prize would solve all of his problems. Angus and Delia are practically extraneous to this story, only serving to up the body count and keep us from seeing Earl fight for his financial freedom. While this nonsense plays out, David Ungaro’s desaturated cinematography imbues every frame with “Meaning.”
Chainsaw Angus is a violent monster whose every appearance is accompanied by horror movie music. It’s appropriate, because he’s nothing more than a slasher movie killer. Every time he shows up, somebody dies or gets beaten or maimed in horrible ways designed to unsettle the viewer, and there’s no plot-related reason for any of it. So there’s no suspense nor surprise in Angus’ scenes, and if you’re a hardened gorehound like me, any intended flinching will be replaced by a mere shrug. It’s clear “Donnybrook” sees Angus as its Anton Chigurh figure, but hell, even Chigurh didn’t win every coin toss.
Even the structure of the film is designed to leech any interest away from the viewer. We first see Earl and Delia on their way to the Donnybrook site. We then flashback to find out how they got there. Since we know from the first minute that Delia and Earl will make it to the fight, we know that Angus won’t kill either of them beforehand. So when Angus puts a gun to Earl’s head, we know he won’t pull the trigger. And when he roughs up his sister, we know he won’t kill her at that moment either. It all feels like filler.
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