Starred Up

David Mackenzie – 2013 – Ireland

Hard-hitting prison dramas may be nothing super new, and they’re rarely surprising, and usually the best we can hope for are some great performances and storytelling.  I think Starred Up provides that, especially in the case of its young star Jack O’Connell, who has recently played gentler though similarly distressed characters in Unbroken and ’71 (both 2014).  “Starred up” is a term for a juvenile offender who is so bad that he warrants being sent into an adult prison.  O’Connell plays Eric, whose nihilistic view of life is challenged when he finds himself in the same prison as his own criminal father (Ben Mendelsohn).  The father’s attempts to protect his son and steer him towards the fastest release possible via good behavior conflict with Eric’s contempt for the world, the prison, his father and in particular his father’s revelation that he is in a homosexual relationship with a fellow prisoner.  Though not winning stars for originality, especially with exceptional prison tales like Bronson and Hunger (both 2008) still fresh in the memory, Starred Up is still compelling and very effective.  Director Mackenzie has made some very interesting and eclectic films, but my reaction to this one was similar to that of his Spread (2009), Perfect Sense and Tonight You’re Mine (both 2011), which is essentially that they are slightly frustrating or underwhelming, that somehow they stop just short of being great.  My views may change at some point; I once felt that way about David Cronenberg and Terry Gilliam, and now they are my favorite directors in the world.