Starred Up is a film of fantastic performances; it's also a British prison movie that - one can imagine - really replicates what it feels like to be inside in these modern times, as inmates are subjected to an intricate pecking order that must be obeyed - or else. In what is perhaps Jack O'Connell's best performance to date (or at least his most "raw'), young Eric Love finds himself locked up in the same prison as his own father (played brilliantly by the always excellent Ben Mendelsohn) which - as expected - creates a few issues between the estranged relations. The drama here feels seriously authentic. Written by a former prison therapist, Starred Up clings to a seriously unnerving tone that carries it from the very start to the very finish, which makes it an anxiety-inducing watch. Something is always brewing beneath the surface. Thankfully, Starred Up makes few elaborate embellishments and instead strives for gritty realism; you won't soon forget it.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
