LAFF: Starred Up

Prison drama Starred Up has a very familiar act one.  While part of that is due to the fact there are only so many ways to show a person entering jail, but when your focus is on inmate hierarchy it's hard not to jump to the 2010 French film Un Prophet.  Fortunately for Starred Up, the script takes a unique and interesting turn, catapulting it above its generic genre counterparts. 

Eric Love (Jack O'Connell) arrives at a maximum security prison 'starred up,' meaning he's high risk (very violent). Only 18 years old, Eric has never had the guidance of a moral figure in his life to correct any actions and troubling behavior. With his explosive anger management problem, he does not fare well in his first days there. Badly roughing up a neighboring inmate finds Eric in solitary. However, through the help of the prison counselor Oliver (Rupert Friend), Eric is given a second chance, in a system that doesn't believe, or care, in second chances. 

Someone else is watching out for him as well. Someone who didn't get the chance to do that during Eric's childhood - his father. In prison for life, Neville Love (Ben Mendelsohn) tries to be the guardian angel he wasn't. It's not something that comes naturally for him, but the genuineness of his actions (however misguided) are touching and separates this film from the other prison dramas that came before. 

Director David Mackenzie and writer Jonathan Asser were able to combine the familiarity of two stories - father/son drama and prison survival drama - into something where each adds a unique layer to the other.   By switching gears from a prison drama to a story built on family, the film is able to add an additional level of emotion that would otherwise be vacant. Directed and performed with intensity, Starred Up is a refreshing and involving entry to the prison genre of film.