Some form of introduction:
For a while now, I’ve been making a mental list of movies I want to watch. I also want to write about them. So I’ve decided to do both, that is, I’m going to watch each movie on the list and write a review for each one. Each review will be as short as I can – or feel like – making it.
So here we go.
Starred Up:
A prison movie is a hard thing to make original and fresh. By its very nature, and the nature of the genre it’s a part of, there are key characteristics that find their way into every prison film and create a set mold and structure for every successive entry of the sort to follow. However, every so often, there are films that use these common characteristics – play with the formula – in such a way as to give something new to the audience while still maintaining these core qualities. Bronson did this by playing with the film’s structure to mirror that of some surreal fever dream. Starred Up accomplishes the same through a brutal, personal, and tragic realism. The film forces the audience into the world of Eric Love face-first, eyes held open so that every uncomfortable and intimate detail is absorbed in all its gut-wrenching glory. At the core of all of this is a father-son story. Perverted and bastardized, yes, but all the more poignant and powerful for it. The journey of Eric and Neville Love is one that is beautiful to watch as it unfolds, even if you have to scrape through a thick and scaly layer of muck and violence to watch it. A great example of what a drama film should be.
In Short: David MacKenzie and Jonathan Asser each in their own way – the former as director, the latter as writer – present a brooding story that is a pleasure to watch, even with all the violence and brutality mixed in. Jack O’Connell and Ben Mendelsohn do a brilliant job of bringing the film to life, with supporting man Rupert Friend doing a great job as well. Combine all this with an ending that is both deeply satisfying and heart-breakingly ambiguous, equally hopeful and melancholic, and you’ve got one damn fine film.
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