TF:
If you thought Arnie and Sly’s Escape Plan should have been charged with inauthenticity, David Mackenzie’s (Young Adam, Hallam Foe) tough prison movie is for you. Clues to its clout sit in the title. ‘Starred up’ is the process by which difficult young offenders are moved early to adult prison, flaunting writer and former prison counsellor Jonathan Asser’s experience.
But the main draw here is Jack O’Connell, who follows hard time in Skins, Harry Brown and Eden Lake with a performance sure to boot down career doors for him: ‘starred up’, indeed.
Familiar prison-movie moves include some business with showers and blades that may make you wish you were watching something nicer (like Scum) but the brusque collision of place and performance lends heft to the clichés.
Handheld camerawork exacerbates the airlessness of the location, a disused Belfast slammer. Oliver’s anger-management sessions promise relief, until the knife-edge tension between Eric and Neville turns combustible.
The details ring true and the performances smart in Mackenzie’s prison movie. You wouldn’t meet Jack O’Connell’s tasty glare in a boozer, but try taking your eyes off him here.
With the new The Crow remake coming soon, we take a look back at the 30-year-old cult classic original–and where the stars are now.
Kaam Chalu Hai Review: Based on true events, this movie is thought-provoking and inspiring
Rebel Moon Part 2 Review: This movie doesn't feel anything new or worth remembering, which is a shame.
