TL;DR – An oddly tense film about bringing a man to his coming fate.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to see this film.

Bring Him to Me Review –

One of the perks of being a film reviewer in Australia is watching Aussie films make it to the big screen. Even more so when they have filmed the movie around where you live, and you get to play the game ‘Wait, I know that bridge’. Well, today we get to review that hits both these marks as it galivants pair towards danger.

So to set the scene, we open in on a robbery in progress, where a money cleaner (Sam Neill) is very put out by having his night ruined. Even more so when they threaten his son (Zac Garred). The next day, the Driver (Barry Pepper) is called by his Boss (Rachel Griffiths) because everything went wrong the night before. Something has to have caused it, so the Driver needs to pick up one of the other members of the robbery, The Kid (Jamie Costa), who stuffed it up and, as the title implies, bring him to her.  

What Bring Him to Me does well from the start is set the film’s mood. This is a man taking a kid to his likely execution, but only one of them knows that murder is a strong possibility in their future. Add to this the failure of the robbery the previous day, putting everyone in the city on edge. This double whammy leads to a perfect vehicle to ratchet up the tension and explore the choice that led to you being in that car. Every car that follows you could be a tail trying to kill you. The police are out looking for suspects, and maybe that money had more strings attached than you planned. It is a good set-up.  

Most of this film is set on a dark and, eventually, stormy night where two characters and their thoughts as they drive through the back streets to get to their destination. I quickly latched onto the Kid because he picked a sensible and comfortable outfit to wear and desperately needed to fill all awkward silences with some sort of noise. Two things I deeply resonate with. Bring Him to Me makes it clear that the Kid is clearly in over his head and only sort of knows the mess he is in, and you can’t help but root for a character like that.

A lot of this film is set in one car, as the Driver starts to open up to the Kid slowly, and conversely, the Kid learns to be a bit more reserved with the information he offers up. To counter the earnest Kid, we get the more reserved Driver who is holding all the baggage of being a surprise executioner. This creates a sense of intimacy between the two characters, heightened by the dangerous surroundings. On that front, I am not a car guy, but even I can see that our ‘hero’ vehicle was a nice ride.

Putting aside a couple of questionable accents, the cast is clearly on board for this film. Barry Pepper brings the gruff intensity that you need in a role like this. Jamie Costa brings nervous energy and charm, which is the right combination for his position. Sam Neill is delighting in his villain with no redeemable features. Also, it was nice to see Liam McIntyre clearly having a ball as the henchman to Rachel Griffiths.

From a production perspective, I think they did a credible job turning Brisbane and its surroundings into Somewhere, USA. There are some clever prop covers that work because it is in a more rural and run-down place. While there might not be as much action as you may expect, each action moment is different and works well in the confines of the narrative. Sure, there were a couple of effect shots here and there that could have used a bit more time in the oven. But you expect that in films with such a tight budget like this, and I do love a good rain machine going full-tilt. Films like this live and die on their endings, and remaining very vague, I think they nailed some aspects, but others were left more frustrating.

In the end, do we recommend Bring Him to Me? Yes, we would. I think it is a solid action flick with the right amount of tension. The cast is clearly game for everything that they throw at them, and I liked that there were more than a few surprises along the way. If you liked Bring Him to Me, we would recommend to you The Nice Guys.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you watched Bring Him to Me?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day. 


Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Bring Him to Me
Directed by – Luke Sparke
Written by – Tom Evans
Music by – Frederik Wiedmann
Cinematography by – Ross W. Clarkson
Edited by – Luke Sparke
Production/Distribution Companies – Sparke Films, Myriad Pictures & Rialto Distribution
Starring – Barry Pepper, Jamie Costa, Sam Neill, Zac Garred, Liam McIntyre & Rachel Griffiths with Harley Bronwyn, Allison Frances Boyd, Thomas Pitts, Alex Fleri & Jennings Brower
Rating – Australia: MA15+;