The Tangle of Fathers, Sons, and a Rough Prison Life

Grab a cup of java and let me tell ya about “Starred Up” – this gritty British film that’ll leave you pondering family dynamics and a world most of us Swedes would rather not experience firsthand. It’s like a sharp slap in the face from one of those icy wind gusts we get on Södermalm in October.

Jack O’Connell plays Eric Love, a hot-headed teenager who gets “starred up” into an adult prison because, let’s be real, the kid’s a walking time bomb. O’Connell walks around with this intense gaze, which sometimes makes you feel like he’s staring right through the screen. And we’re not just here to ogle O’Connell, right? There’s also Ben Mendelsohn playing his estranged dad, Neville. The father-son interactions here could rival any holiday dinner with my cousin Gösta when he’s had too much glögg.

What really caught me was this undercurrent of brutal realism that director David Mackenzie weaves throughout the film. It’s like he’s taken a slice of life and flipped it upside down. Prison here is claustrophobic, not just in space – but in spirit. It echoes chemically, like the smell of hospital corridors, but so much more hostile.

But hey, I have to admit, at times I felt like the plot simmered too long. Maybe it’s because I’m used to Swedish films where a brooding stare across a fjord says more than words can muster. Sometimes, just sometimes, “Starred Up” felt like it could’ve benefited from fewer heated standoffs and more of that Mendelsohn magic, ya know?

Now, here’s a fun tidbit. About five years ago–I was down in Brighton, visiting a friend from film school. We stumbled across an old neighborhood cinema that was screening old prison dramas. Watching “Starred Up” whisked me right back to that weathered red seat, feeling the raw emotions sitting heavy in the air.

All in all, the film’s raw, honest energy left me with mixed feelings. It tackles redemption, and the complex web of relationships, yet I can’t help but wonder… would the story lose or gain impact if it were plucked from a Swedish prison setting? Something to muse while sipping a hefty kaffe smörgås on a Saturday morning. Skål!

Check the trailer below