Way back in 1979, Roy Minton's play SCUM caused a terrible stir when it was banned by the BBC on account of its excessive violence. The play was subsequently filmed, and still caused concern amongst audiences and reviewers alike for its stark content, especially a rape scene involving two male inmates of a young offenders' prison. STARRED UP follows in a similar tradition; there are some sequences of graphic violence, especially at the end, when young offender Eric Love (Jack O'Connell) suffers at the hands of sadistic assistant prison governor Haynes (Sam Spruell), while his father Neville (Ben Mendelsohn) runs amok in a desperate bid to save his son, killing a fellow-inmate and assaulting other officers in the process.
David Mackenzie's film focuses on the experiences of Eric, a nineteen-year-old young offender sent to an adult prison for a variety of offenses. Occasionally the action seems to veer in a familiar path, as Eric joins a psychotherapeutic group led by Oliver Baumer (Rupert Friend) and appears to make considerable progress in the direction of becoming socialized; he starts to listen to people and take notice of their particular difficulties. However the film's plot refuses to offer any sentimental solutions by suggesting that much of Eric's problems can be attributed to his father, a serial offender who spent little or no time looking after his son (Eric was placed into care when he was three). STARRED UP shows father and son in an ambivalent relationship; they obviously care for each other yet cannot co-exist. Eric desperately looks for some kind of direction that Neville cannot offer; Neville, on the other hand, is guilty for the way he has (mis)treated his son but lacks any empathetic qualities. The only way he can protect Eric is through violence. The film refuses to offer us any comforting ending - although father and son are restored to one another, they have little or no hope of developing their relationship further.
Filmed in the old Crumlin Road and Maze prisons in Belfast, where many political prisoners were incarcerated in the past (the Maze was the location of the IRA hunger strikes, leading to the death of Bobby Sands), STARRED UP creates a harsh, uncompromising portrait of prison life, showing that it can destroy rather than reform the inmates, despite the government's protestations to the contrary. It's an uncomfortable yet compelling experience to watch.
David Mackenzie's film focuses on the experiences of Eric, a nineteen-year-old young offender sent to an adult prison for a variety of offenses. Occasionally the action seems to veer in a familiar path, as Eric joins a psychotherapeutic group led by Oliver Baumer (Rupert Friend) and appears to make considerable progress in the direction of becoming socialized; he starts to listen to people and take notice of their particular difficulties. However the film's plot refuses to offer any sentimental solutions by suggesting that much of Eric's problems can be attributed to his father, a serial offender who spent little or no time looking after his son (Eric was placed into care when he was three). STARRED UP shows father and son in an ambivalent relationship; they obviously care for each other yet cannot co-exist. Eric desperately looks for some kind of direction that Neville cannot offer; Neville, on the other hand, is guilty for the way he has (mis)treated his son but lacks any empathetic qualities. The only way he can protect Eric is through violence. The film refuses to offer us any comforting ending - although father and son are restored to one another, they have little or no hope of developing their relationship further.
Filmed in the old Crumlin Road and Maze prisons in Belfast, where many political prisoners were incarcerated in the past (the Maze was the location of the IRA hunger strikes, leading to the death of Bobby Sands), STARRED UP creates a harsh, uncompromising portrait of prison life, showing that it can destroy rather than reform the inmates, despite the government's protestations to the contrary. It's an uncomfortable yet compelling experience to watch.