
2014 · drama · political
Directed by David Mackenzie1h 46m2014
19-year-old Eric, arrogant and ultra-violent, is prematurely transferred to the same adult prison facility as his estranged father. As his explosive temper quickly finds him enemies in both prison authorities and fellow inmates — and his already volatile relationship with his father is pushed past breaking point — Eric is approached by a volunteer psychotherapist, who runs an anger management group for prisoners. Torn between gang politics, prison corruption, and a glimmer of something better, Eric finds himself in a fight for his own life, unsure if his own father is there to protect him or join in punishing him.
Our read: Starred Up (2014) reads as a heavy, kinetic, grounded drama · political entry — extreme in intensity, intimate in scope, cold in temperature, ambivalent in outlook.
Heavy, kinetic, extreme drama / political, grounded in texture. Ambivalent, intimate, cold.
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“You want raw British prison intensity with a father-son thread underneath.”
Skip it tonight — You cannot handle brutal cell-block violence on a late weeknight.
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