The Field

Bull McCabe dumps a dead donkey in a lake, triggering a feud over blame and blood money. The donkey's owner immediately blames McCabe for its death and demands compensation. This act opens the larger battle over who truly controls the land the family has rented for generations.

Tadhg discovers the donkey had broken into the family field and kills it in a moment of anger. The killing deepens the townsfolk's suspicion of McCabe and inflames the dispute over ownership. The incident foreshadows the mounting tension surrounding the field.

The field's owner, a widow, decides to sell the land at public auction rather than selling directly to McCabe. She hopes an outside buyer will resolve the conflict and the long-standing tension around the field. The decision sets the stage for a headline bidding war.

Peter, an American with local roots, arrives to push plans for a hydro-electric plant and new roads that would require McCabe's field. He becomes the dominant bidder and a direct threat to McCabe's hold on the land. His presence raises the stakes for the village and the family.

At the first public auction, Peter repeatedly outbids McCabe, driving the price to a level McCabe cannot meet. The auction stalls as the gap between bidder and bidder widens into a personal crisis for McCabe. The field remains at risk as the showdown intensifies.

The widow halts the first auction and announces a new sale with a reserve price of 100 pounds. McCabe's fury grows as he realizes the field may still slip away. The tensions spill into a confrontation at the rectory where McCabe confronts Peter and the parish priest, and Tadhg's actions are revealed.

McCabe explains his lifelong attachment to the field and reveals that Tadhg has harassed the widow, shaping the widow's belief that McCabe is behind the harassment. He recalls generations of labor in turning the land from barren to productive. The revelation complicates loyalties and deepens the sense that the field is a battleground of reputations as well as property.

In a desperate bid, McCabe and Tadhg confront Peter at a waterfall just before the second auction. When Tadhg cannot defeat Peter, McCabe strikes and destroys both men, killing Peter. The act triggers a complete mental collapse in McCabe as he confuses Peter with his dead son.

Bird O'Donnell bids on behalf of McCabe and wins the field at 101 pounds, unopposed. The small victory comes at a terrible cost, as the community reels from the recent killings. The field changes hands, yet the costs of the conflict loom large.

A Traveller boy spots the dead donkey in the lake and a crane is brought to recover it. The crane unexpectedly lifts Peter's corpse along with the donkey, tying Peter's fate to the field dispute. The discovery adds shock and tragedy to the settlement of the land.

Tadhg comes home to tell his father he is leaving with the Traveller and that he never wanted the field. The moment highlights the personal costs of the feud and the drift of the family apart. It foreshadows further tragedy as the family fractures.

The parish priest arrives to confront McCabe about the discovery of Peter's corpse. The confrontation intensifies the moral weight of the tragedy and the community's gaze on McCabe's actions. Grief and guilt collide as McCabe spirals further.

With the losses of his son and Peter weighing on him, McCabe descends into madness and drives his cattle toward the sea cliffs. The once-productive land becomes a symbol of his ruin. The line between man and land blurs as he loses control.

In a final tragedy, Tadhg rushes to stop his father but is fatally knocked from the cliff by the charging herd. The crowd and family watch in horror as the last kin of the field dies in the storm of grief. This act seals the end of the family line tied to the land.

Grieving and maddened, McCabe tries to drive the waves back from his dead son on the clifftop. The Traveller and McCabe's wife and others cry out in sorrow as the sea continues its indifferent advance. The film closes on a landscape of ruin and unresolved loss.