Went to a Insider preview screening of Starred Up with my friend S. This 18 rated movie is a hard-hitting realistic tale of life inside a British prison.
IMDB says: A troubled and explosively violent teenager is transferred to adult prison where he finally meets his match - a man who also happens to be his father.
Jack O'Connell (This is England, Harry Brown) stars as Eric Love, a starred up young offender moved to an over-21 institution because of his violent behaviour. The film is an explosive powder keg of anger, whether it be between the prisoners, the prisoners and the guards or even the supposed hierarchy, and the dragging pace is evocative of how it must feel to be living life behind bars.
The director, David Mackenzie and writer, Jonathon Asser, do not give away much backstory to Eric and the film is the better for it. Bit by bit, we learn that he is the product of a rough childhood (his father Neville, played by Ben Mendelshon of Killing Them Softly and The Dark Knight Rises, has been in prison since he was five, he lost his mother under tragic circumstances and was abused whilst in care) and although Neville tries to be a father to him in prison, in the only ways he knows how, it actually worsens the situation for Eric.
Rupert Friend (The Young Victoria, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas) is captivating as sympathetic volunteer worker Oliver, who tries to reach through the anger to help Eric.
The claustrophobia of locked or revolving doors, windows and slats that allow in only a little light and the constant underlying threat of violence dogs the movie throughout, pointing you towards the climactic end scenes with the inevitability of the dawn.
In cinemas from 21 March, this bruising film is a British winner. 7.5/10
#StarredUp #Insider #JackO'Connell #RupertFriend
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