Right from the outset UK film STARRED UP is a claustrophobic,
panic inducing experience, beginning with a new inmates being processed and
remaining in the structure’s decaying yellowish labyrinth of corridors, cramped
cells, and sliding bars. While the atmosphere is as chilling as any previous dramas
set in prisons where appalling acts of brutality are the norm, this film stands
out more the restraint that is often shown by inmates whose every primal
instinct to give in to rage is tested. That’s not to say that there aren’t
fearsome confrontations; acts of violence arise that will make a chill run up
your spine. Yet there is also a lot of conversation, often heated, and attempts
to hash problems out as opposed to resorting to violence. The story does
contain some fantastic and improbable turns of events so fans of recent trends
of ultrarealistic drams might be a bit disappointed.
The result is a very satisfying drama with a powerful message
and a story with enough thrills to move it forward dynamically. Director David
Mackenzie and writer Jonathan Asser’s ability to achieve a few instances of
humor in this most grim setting suggests a true storyteller’s gift, making the
story far more memorable than if we were to just be bludgeoned by the same
harsh truths over and over again.
We do not know what has landed 19 year old Eric a prison
sentence, but his ferocity is rapidly established. After an assault on another
inmate, with effects beyond those intended, Eric stages a showdown with a host
of riot-gear clad guards, in which he manages to achieve the upper hand twice
and put guards in the most precarious of situations in as many times. A resulting
meeting between the warden, a high level administrator, and Oliver, a counselor
volunteering to work at the prison on an experimental form of talk therapy with
the prison’s more violent inmates, reveals that Eric has been ‘starred up,.’
This means he is a minor assigned to an adult facility because of the severity
of his crimes. Begrudgingly the warden,
being suspect of the treatment being utilized at all, agrees to allow Eric to
join these sessions with the caveat of any incidents landing him in solitary
confinement.
Meanwhile, there is the double-edged sword of Eric‘s father,
Neville being a long incarcerated inmate in the same wing he is assigned to
carrying out a life sentence. On the one hand, his father is established as a
formidable prisoner, one to steer clear of, which ensures Eric a certain level
of protection. On the other hand, being around each other brings up all kinds
of psychic damage for the two, with both of their bottled up feelings being
unleashed into violent confrontations that bring as much harm as healing, sometimes
standing in direct opposition to Eric‘s therapy taking hold.
As Eric engages in these sessions with Oliver’s tightly bound group of prisoners, signs of
progress appear. Yet the threat of conflict both within the group and outside
of it are a constant threat to maintaining peace. Emotional power struggles
arise around Neville’s sense of inadequacy as a father figure seeing Eric take
to the members of this group, and an administration more eager to see -Oliver‘s
progressive methods fail than succeed lurk in the background.
An image of a turnstile’s slow creaking rotation til
reaching a thudding halt appears a few times. It makes a simple yet powerful statement of endless
frustrating cycles in prison systems like the ones we get a glimpse of here.
Not recidivism, but progress at large, such Oliver’s attempts to reform rather
than dehumanize prisoners, that is constantly blocked by those in control.
STARRED UP screens Sunday, April 20, Monday, the 21st,
Wednesday, the 23rd and Saturday, the 26th. Click here for more info and tobuy tickets.
Yep, I will be seeing this and can't wait. Definitely one of your most impassioned reviews on the festival! This one reminds me of DOG POUND from a few years back!
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