Starred Up (2013)
Country: GB
Technical: col/2.35:1 106m
Director: David Mackenzie
Cast: Jack O'Connell, Ben Mendelsohn, Rupert Friend
Synopsis:
A 'starred up' Young Offender is transferred to a bona fide prison where his estranged father ekes out his life sentence acting as muscle for the inmate kingpin. He has no truck with adhering to the rules, least of all those laid out by his old man, whom he considers to have gone soft, but a discussion group led by a volunteer social worker offers a chance at socialisation. The authorities, however, do not envisage things that way.
Review:
Chopper, Bronson, A Prophet, Cell 211: the canon is full of outstanding prison movies, but none quite matches the power of this gruelling portrait of an inmate scrabbling around for what once existed of his humanity, caught between the fear of showing weakness and the traps set by others. It is a gripping performance, matched by Mendelsohn's and those of the rest of the cast, and with Mackenzie's skilful deployment of sound and camerawork we are left helpless, whether in horror or compassion, though without feeling manipulated. This crushing achievement asks us the timely question: what sort of prisons do we want for the offenders of tomorrow, already scarred by childhoods of neglect or abuse?
Country: GB
Technical: col/2.35:1 106m
Director: David Mackenzie
Cast: Jack O'Connell, Ben Mendelsohn, Rupert Friend
Synopsis:
A 'starred up' Young Offender is transferred to a bona fide prison where his estranged father ekes out his life sentence acting as muscle for the inmate kingpin. He has no truck with adhering to the rules, least of all those laid out by his old man, whom he considers to have gone soft, but a discussion group led by a volunteer social worker offers a chance at socialisation. The authorities, however, do not envisage things that way.
Review:
Chopper, Bronson, A Prophet, Cell 211: the canon is full of outstanding prison movies, but none quite matches the power of this gruelling portrait of an inmate scrabbling around for what once existed of his humanity, caught between the fear of showing weakness and the traps set by others. It is a gripping performance, matched by Mendelsohn's and those of the rest of the cast, and with Mackenzie's skilful deployment of sound and camerawork we are left helpless, whether in horror or compassion, though without feeling manipulated. This crushing achievement asks us the timely question: what sort of prisons do we want for the offenders of tomorrow, already scarred by childhoods of neglect or abuse?
Country: GB
Technical: col/2.35:1 106m
Director: David Mackenzie
Cast: Jack O'Connell, Ben Mendelsohn, Rupert Friend
Synopsis:
A 'starred up' Young Offender is transferred to a bona fide prison where his estranged father ekes out his life sentence acting as muscle for the inmate kingpin. He has no truck with adhering to the rules, least of all those laid out by his old man, whom he considers to have gone soft, but a discussion group led by a volunteer social worker offers a chance at socialisation. The authorities, however, do not envisage things that way.
Review:
Chopper, Bronson, A Prophet, Cell 211: the canon is full of outstanding prison movies, but none quite matches the power of this gruelling portrait of an inmate scrabbling around for what once existed of his humanity, caught between the fear of showing weakness and the traps set by others. It is a gripping performance, matched by Mendelsohn's and those of the rest of the cast, and with Mackenzie's skilful deployment of sound and camerawork we are left helpless, whether in horror or compassion, though without feeling manipulated. This crushing achievement asks us the timely question: what sort of prisons do we want for the offenders of tomorrow, already scarred by childhoods of neglect or abuse?