Review of Starred Up (2014) by Gareth D — 07 Sep 2014

"If you star me up, if you star me up, I'll never stop!" Yeah, I just had to make a reference to The Rolling Stones, because like the Stones, this film is extremely British and rather disturbing. More than anything, this film is extremely British, so much so that its title makes reference to some sort of imprisonment terminology that only Brits are going to understand. Yup, we're talking about a modern British drama set in prison, so you know that this would be more foul-mouthed than you'd think cinema could get, were it not for the fact that this film has, like, a million other British crime dramas to compete with when it comes to fast-pace vulgarity. If nothing else distinguishes this film from the other British crime flicks to come out since Guy Ritchie hit the industry, it's the fact that this is most certainly not a comedy. You hear a lot about how strange British comedy is, even nowadays, but they may be getting a little extreme by turning crime and prison life into a joke, because as this film will tell you, crime is no joke, although it's a whole lot more entertaining when it is portrayed as one. Well, at least this film is more exciting than "Hunger", but then again, so is watching paint... or fecal matter dry on the walls (I would be more willing to embrace the artistic license if it was actually tasteful), partly thanks to a few colorful strengths.

The harshness of prison life has been portrayed in cinema time, and time, and time again, even in this tediously naturalist style, so this film isn't helped by its subject matter's being stale, and yet, this remains an intriguing sort of story concept whose engagement value is, in fact, reinforced by strengths in the interpretation. Both thin and fatty, Jonathan Asser's script is nothing especially special, and plenty misguided, though not consistently so, featuring believable and sometimes, in such a way, sharp dialogue, - if you can hear it, that is - with plenty of set are pieces that are themselves convincing carriers of effectiveness that is betrayed by the monotony of the storytelling. If the meanderings in plotting aren't monotonous, then it is a chilled directorial style that is tedious in its somber intensity, and yet, there is something to commend about David Mackenzie's steady pacing and naturalist attention to detail, whose immersion value is justified by some bitingly unflinching scene structuring. The aforementioned scripting and directorial highlights are fairly minor, at least in comparison with the overwhelming missteps that render the final product something of a chore to watch, but they do help the final product in flirting with decency, at least by bringing you closer to the performances. I won't commend the storytelling for bringing you closer to the characters, because they're just so blasted unlikable, especially the lead, with the only thing about them that's endearing - outside of some signs of redemption which, even then, are light - being their portrayal, for most everyone is convincing in his intensity, with Ben Mendelsohn being something of a show-stealer at times, while leading man Jack O'Connell proves to be particularly effective in his projecting a sense of unpredictability, intimidation and, to a degree, humanity. O'Connell's character is hardly redeemable, but O'Connell's hard work as a worthwhile leading man does what it can to endear you to a misguided lead and a misguided film, whose occasions of effectiveness run deep enough to all but save the final product. I come to embrace the film before too long, even if only slightly, and yet, the decency of this drama, no matter how light when at its best, comes into play much too late for the final product to be saved, its momentum too heavily shaken, even by familiarity.

Conceptually intriguing though it may be, this story about prison life and an attempt at rehabilitation is nothing new, and in its subject matter, and in how it handles the subject matter, this film is derivative. Needless to say, the characters are also fairly conventional, but no matter how recognizable they are, it's hard to feel familiarized with them, what with a total lack of immediate background development, and a shortage on characterization that is mildly effective enough for you to embrace the characters. This gritty prison drama is indeed realistic, even down to having despicable characters, with the lead being, albeit particularly well-portrayed, but about as repulsive as anyone, unable to be easily redeemed without layered exposition, thus, the characterization reflects that this film is too trashy to be dramatically tasteful. The flow into some moderate degree of decency would be a whole lot smoother and more effective if the structure of the storytelling was more even, but as things stand, the film jars between the lead's prison life and therapy, and picks up then subsequently abandons certain important supporting characters, and wouldn't be so disjointed if the plotting shifts didn't mark lapses in aimlessness. Running a little over 100 minutes, but still being nothing but a naturalist meditation on prison shenanigans, this film is aimless, maybe even monotonous in its circling around the same formula of brutality and therapy once it reaches the plot's body, whose intensity loses momentum that cannot be lost if decency to triumph over tedium. The film unevenly alternates between obscene and often, at least for an American, incomprehensible chatter, and extended periods of quietness, but there's always something kind of dull about the atmosphere in David Mackenzie's direction, which is sometimes effective in its subtlety, but abandons style for meditations on a whole lot of nothing, until dullness creeps in, running deeper and deeper until we come to tedium that does away with the rest of your investment. As the ramblings grow greater and the storytelling style of the film grows more traditionalist, engagement value gradually reinforces, until glimpses of decency are found amidst the thinning of the drama's issues, but on the whole, this is an almost painfully boring effort, and when it's not that, it's too trashy to endear, and too monotonous to be entertaining, thus making for a film that whose grip on potential is so loose that mediocrity is ultimately secured.

All in all, the subject matter carries plenty of intrigue, and is done a fair bit of justice by highlights in clever writing, subtle direction and effective performances, - especially by Ben Mendelsohn and Jack O'Connell - but it's much too familiar, and that makes it harder to ignore the major shortcomings in the exposition of unlikable characters, and the unevenness, aimless monotony and deeply dull atmospheric sobriety which secure "Starred Up" as a tediously misguided naturalist prison drama that flirts with decency, but doesn't quite make it.

2.25/5 - Mediocre.