STARRED UP (15)

WHO’S IN IT?

Jack O’Connell (Harry Brown), Rupert Friend (The Kid), Ben Mendelsohn (The Place Beyond The Pines), Sam Spruell (The Hurt Locker), David Ajala (The Dark Knight), Peter Ferdinando (A Field In England), Sian Breckin (Tyrannosaur), Anthony Welsh (My Brother The Devil), David Avery (The Inbetweeners Movie), Gershwyn Eustache Jnr (Fat Cat)

WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?

David Mackenzie (Young Adam), director; Jonathan Asser (film debut), writer; Gillian Berrie (You Instead), producer; Michael McDonough (Winter’s Bone), cinematographer; Nick Emerson (Good Vibrations) and Jake Roberts (Perfect Sense), editors

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

Troubled teenager Eric (O’Connell) is transferred to an adult prison to serve time. But when his explosive temper and tendency for violence proves to be an asset for the prison guards, including therapist Oliver (Friend), fellow inmate Neville (Mendelsohn) is recruited to keep him in line. Turns out, however, that Neville is Eric’s distant father and quite possibly the reason for his aggressive personality…

IN ONE SENTENCE, WHY SHOULD YOU BE EXCITED?

Starred Up is an emotional father-son story behind bars which, like Shawshank Redemption and others before it, should become a classic prison drama in the near future.

WHEN’S IT OUT?

FRIDAY 21ST MARCH 2014

Search from over ten years of movies here:

Other recent reviews:

Giant (dir. Rowan Athale)

British-Yemeni boxer Naseem Hamed rises in the sport…

Hamnet (dir. Chloé Zhao)

William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes deal with an unspeakable loss…

Peter Hujar’s Day (dir. Ira Sachs)

In 1974, photographer Peter Hujar confides in his artist friend Linda Rosenkrantz…

Song Sung Blue (dir. Craig Brewer)

A musician and single mother form a Neil Diamond tribute band…

The Best Films of 2025: #15-1

The second half of our countdown to the very best films of 2025…

The Best Films of 2025: #30-16

The first half of our countdown of 2025’s best films…

Anaconda (dir. Tom Gormican)

Two friends find their remake of the film Anaconda going horribly wrong…

Sentimental Value (dir. Joachim Trier)

An actor is forced to confront her distant filmmaker father…

The Housemaid (dir. Paul Feig)

A young woman becomes the housemaid for an affluent yet disturbed family…

Goodbye June (dir. Kate Winslet)

A family must figure out how to bid their dying mother farewell…

Optimized by Optimole