Starred Up

Nicholas Gregory

The great plot development and story arc are undone by a lack of emotive parlance. Its heart is diluted with dialogue that's underwritten for proper development and drama, There's a lot of screaming and cursing here, and while that may fit the characters and even be genuine within the prison walls, it grows quite tiresome, creating a disconnect. Otherwise, this would've been masterful, instead of lukewarm.

OFF_FRAME

Another gritty, tense and violent prison film. Jack O’Connell is a tightly-wound powder keg, a damaged teen in an adult prison begging for ultra violence. The film captures perfectly the trauma done by institutionalism and fractured family. Mendelsohn is in form as the unwilling father. Beautifully shot, capturing the tense vibe fleshed out by a solid support cast that proves a damning comment on the system.

J. O.

Incendiary performances and a skillful, refined direction make for a wholly engrossing experience. The film never goes beyond the walls of the prison, or beyond the here-and-now of the prisoners. This is an explosive portrait of aggression and savagery (not unlike Alan Clarke's Scum), and its main flaw was not spending enough time exploring fatherly guilt or expanding on the racial tensions.

smndvdcl

A brutal prison drama with O'Connell and Mendelssohn on ferocious fire. Up there with 'Chopper' and 'Bronson'.

Palmat

Good prison drama with a stellar turn by O´Connell and Mendelsohn. The story might be slight in parts and its a shame that the father son angle is not fully explored. Still be dialogue and ambiance feels genuine and the desperation and grit is palpable. But in the end it does not come together as I wished it would and the coda seems a bit rushed. Still an engaging movie both both heart and soul.

Tigrão

With electrifying performances from young O'Connell and Mendelsohn, "Starred Up" ranks itself high up on my list of best prison movies, along with "A Prophet", "Hunger", "Kiss of the Spider Woman", "Carandiru", "Shawshank", and "Papillon". Intense as hell and masterfully directed by David MacKenzie.

Slow Immersion

Never liked O'Connell but this had some potential, and was remotely interesting, but the violence, violence, just too much for me.

Carlos Filipe Freitas

Jack O’Connell’s performance was tightly convincing, in an explosive mix of madness and fury, and one of his best so far.