STARRED UP

Jack O'Connell (aka Cook from Skins) stars as Eric, a violent and troubled young offender who gets transferred to an adult prison where he meets his match - his father.

Starred Up is a gritty, raw and brutally honest prison drama that manages to achieve levels of integrity that some of the glitzier blockbusters could only ever dream of. Although relatively sparse when it comes to dialogue, the story of Eric and his fellow inmates comes across perfectly in scenes that feel so real it is almost as though you are watching a documentary.

We first meet Eric as he arrives at the prison; he has been moved from the young offenders institute due to violent, aggressive behaviour and poses a high risk to society. His dad is already an established and influential inmate at the prison and the animosity between the two men is clear from the offset. However, after Eric lashes out and wreaks havoc on his wing the corrupt prison guards call in his dad to get Eric under control and for him to attend therapeutic anger management sessions with some other violent prisoners.

It is in these group sessions that we gradually get a chance to see the true Eric; O'Connell does a fantastic job at giving his character the layers and complexity required for the audience to understand that he is deeply troubled and the supporting cast in the therapy sessions have a great rapport making the scenes appear authentic and believable with natural character development.

Starred Up is unpredictable yet realistic throughout; shying away from Hollywood cliches and whitewashing, the film gives a ruthless and human depiction of prison life and refuses to succumb to cinematic ideals as it concludes with a far-from-happy ending that only aids the documentary-esque feel that it has throughout.

With such little dialogue, the film is heavily dependent on performance talent and Jack O'Connell shines as he carries the film with ease. Despite being such a brutal character, it is impossible not to warm to Eric as the film goes on thanks to O'Connell's understated and emotional performance, making him an anti-hero in the truest sense of the word.

Despite the stunning performances the film does have quite a slow pace to it. The tension throughout is high

and there is always an element of intrigue as you can not predict what will happen next, however, the lack of script could be alienating for some viewers. It is by no means the same as other British dramas such as This is England or Kidulthood; Starred Up has its own thing going on and although it does take a little while longer than usual to get into the film and connect with the characters, the slow pace works incredibly well and captures the true essence and overall point of the film.

All in all, Starred Up is a raw and honest grit flick filled to the brim with top notch performances from some of Britain's finest actors, with Jack O'Connell giving the performance of his career to date.

★★★★☆

Starred Up is in cinemas nationwide from the 21st of March!

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