Director: David McKenzie
Talent: Jack O’Connell, Rupert Friend, Ben Mendelsohn, Sam Spruell
Release Date: 21st March 2014
Starred Up follows a juvenile offender, Eric Love (Jack O’Connell), who is transferred from a young offenders institute to an adult prison. We are told that Love’s premature graduation to proper jail is on account of his unpredictable temper and violent tendencies. It doesn’t take long for Love to confirm his reputation, attacking a fellow inmate who attempts to borrow a lighter from him.
The film tends towards sudden, Takeshi-esque displays of brutal violence. Director David McKenzie’s camera frames these outbursts in an unflinching, matter-of-fact manner which reinforces the notion that violence is a way of life for Eric Love and the other inmates, who act on something akin to animal instinct.
In Starred Up McKenzie and screenwriter Jonathan Asser weave a grounded and gripping tale of circular violence and the harsh realities of prison life. It’s an ugly film but it’s certainly one worth seeing. – LM
