“A hundred and twenty five years? Ill be a hundred and sixty one when I get out..!” ‘Starred Up’ (David Mackenzie; UK) ***½ As far as I’m concerned, you either like prison movies or you don’t. If you fall into the latter group then I doubt this is going to be the film to convert you. But if you’re already a fan of the genre then I reckon you should enjoy this. All the familiar elements (warring factions, corrupt screws, top-dog inmate) are present but mixed together with enough fresh twists to make an enjoyable whole. Jack O’Connell plays a new arrival from a young offenders’ institute. He’s got rage to spare and acclimatising himself to his new surroundings is a battle at every step; not helped by the fact his estranged father (Ben Mendelsohn), who he barely knows, is one of the convicts-in-control. Familiar faces Rupert Friend and Sam Spruell add decent spins to supporting roles as prison therapist and head guard respectively. If there is a problem it’s that some of the smaller roles (without the screen-time to be fully fleshed out) are a bit archetypal. You can almost get distracted deciding which character from ‘Porridge’ they resemble most; but without the laughter. DEFINITELY without the laughter. This is a brutal film whose 18 certificate is well-earned. Mendelsohn adds another distinctive role to his CV (a recognisably human monster); he’s already won an award for it. But all eyes here will probably be on O’Connell. After gaining fame in E4’s ‘Skins’ (a training ground for up-and-comers) he’s now squarely on Hollywood’s radar and his leading performance here will do him no harm: alternating brutal and brittle with frightening regularity, O’Connell more than carries off his role and the film. He’s NOT the new Danny Dyer… (Seen at the London Film Festival last year, so not included on my count of 2014 cinema visits.)
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 19:15:32 +0000