My Father Die is a 2016 American action thriller film written and directed by Sean Brosnan in his feature directorial debut. It stars Joe Anderson, Gary Stretch, Candace Smith, Kevin Gage and John Schneider. Inspired by J. M Synge's 1907 play The Playboy of the Western World, the film follows a deaf man seeking revenge against his violent father for the killing of his older brother. The film had its world premiere in the Midnighters section of the South by Southwest Film Festival on March 12, 2016, and was released theatrically in the United States by FilmRise on January 20, 2017.

Plot As a child in rural Louisiana, Asher idolizes his rebellious older brother Chester. Chester arranges for Asher to meet their friend Nana while has sex with her, but their violent father Ivan discovers them. Enraged, Ivan beats Chester to death and strikes Asher with such a force that he permanently loses his hearing. Ivan is subsequently imprisoned for Chester's death.

Years later, the adult Asher learns that Ivan is being released early from prison. Determined to avenge Chester, he begins searching for his father while wearing Chester's old wolfskin headpiece. After forcing Ivan's associate Tank to reveal his whereabouts, Asher attacks Ivan at a motel and leaves believing that he has killed him. He then reconnects with Nana, now a single mother whose young son is named Chester. Ivan survives the attack and beings pursuing Asher and those close to him, escalating the conflict into a violent cycle of retaliation.

Ivan eventually attacks Nana, drawing her and her son directly into Asher's revenge. After a confrontation in which the boy is wounded, Asher and Nana take him to safety before going after Ivan at his motorbike clubhouse. Asher fights his way through Ivan's associates and confronts his father, while Nana intervenes to help him escape. Ivan wounds Nana as they flee, and Asher turns back for a final confrontation. Ivan dies from his wounds, while Asher, after seeing a vision of Chester, also dies. Nana survives and is rescued by the police.

Cast

Joe Anderson as Asher Rawlings Gary Stretch as Ivan Rawlings Candace Smith as Nana Kevin Gage as Tank John Schneider as Detective Johnson Gabe White as younger Asher Rawlings Chester Rushing as Chester Rawlings Trina LaFargue as Harper Rawlings Thomas Francis Murphy as Preacher Michael William Mark McCullough as Sheriff Wayne Jason Kirkpatrick as Russ Ross Britz as Lawny Greg Schott as Clerk Gwenhwyfar Reagan Hardy as Sheela Shawn Rainey as young Wayne Morgan Roberts as Jessy Christine Carter as Lisa Jonathan Billions as Chess Sean Brosnan as Luke

Production My Father Die marked Sean Brosnan's feature directorial debut. Brosnan said he loosely based the film's three-act structure on J. M Synge's play The Playboy of the Western World, adapting its father-son conflict to an American setting. He also cited the films of Gaspar Noé and Park Chan-wook's revenge trilogy as influences while developing the film. Pierce Brosnan, Sean's father, served as one of the film's producers.

Filming took place on location in Louisiana. Brosnan later recalled that the shoot lasted approximately 16 to 18 days, with the film's climactic car chase filmed over 2 days and additional pickup shots completed with Gary Stretch. Joe Anderson, who played Asher, had been filming the television series Hannibal when he was cast and did not meet Brosnan in person until arriving on set.

Brosnan said the film's black and white imagery was planned from the screenplay stage, while the classical painting inserts were developed during editing. The imagery was party inspired by Peter Paul Rubens' painting Saturn Devouring His Son. Marc Shap served as cinematographer, while Justin Small and Ohad Benchetrit composed the score.

Release The film had its world premiere in the Midnighters section of South by Southwest on 12 March 2016. In May 2016, FilmRise acquired worldwide distribution rights to the film. It had its European premiere on 25 August 2016 as the opening film of Horror Channel FrightFest in London. FilmRise released the film in a limited theatrical run in the United States on 20 January 2017.

Reception The film received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, 64% of 14 critic's reviews are positive. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score 42 out of 100 based on 7 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.

Randall Colburn of Consequence described the film as a "rich, powerful revenge thriller", praising Brosnan's direction and the performances of Joe Anderson and Gary Stretch, while criticizing its stylistic excesses and treatment of its more depraved material. In the Los Angeles Times, Katie Walsh praised the film's visual style but criticized its extreme violence, Southern stereotypes and use of sexual violence, concluding that its provocative imagery lacked sufficient substance.

Accolades YearAwardCategoryRecipient(s)ResultRef2016Screamfest Horror Film FestivalBest PictureMy Father DieBest DirectorSean BrosnanBest EditingJason Eric Perlman and Sean BrosnanBest Musical ScoreJustin Small and Ohad Benchetrit

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