A cycle of violence

Abstract

Starred Up is an urgent, convulsive film about Eric, a 19-year-old man who is transferred into an adult prison in the UK earlier than usual because his violence can no longer be contained in a young offenders' institution. His passive compliance with the austere reception process on arrival in adult gaol belies a capacity for explosive anger, which soon emerges.Located in a single cell because of the risk he poses to other prisoners, Eric protects himself with a secreted razor blade, burnt into a melted plastic toothbrush, and begins to inflict instrumental violence on others. He seems to enjoy this violence, yet it also distresses him. Uncoordinated turf wars follow, resulting in episodes of segregation, until he briefly finds support and shelter in the prison's powerful hierarchy. For just a moment, a therapy group offers a glimpse of a different life trajectory. But as soon as the root cause of his anger is unmasked, a jarring reversion to homicidal rage takes its place and the cycle of violence repeats: it feels as though it might never end, until the system serves up a form of cold revenge.Director David Mackenzie uses the exceptional backdrop of Crumlin Road Gaol in Belfast to relate a bleak drama about the realities of imprisonment and the process of institutionalisation. Opened in 1845, and closed in 1996, Crumlin Road has historically detained men, women, and children, as well as being the site of 17 executions. It resembles many of the Victorian built prisons that are still in use in the UK today. Although it has since been refurbished as a tourist venue, Crumlin Road has lost none of its grim imposition. It is a near perfect setting for this story of childhood trauma and abuse, leading to early incarceration and criminality, with consequential extreme violence. In playing Eric, Jack O'Connell is simply exceptional, while Ben Mendelsohn finds an authentic counterpoint as his simmering father, Nev. Eric rails against the prison system time and again, but there is a seeming inevitability to the next, more blunted, phase of his detention, as he begins to wear the context well.Through the portrayal of Eric, Starred Up highlights the management of younger adults who are located in adult prisons, and of prisoners who require separation from others because they present a high risk of violence. It also raises questions about individuals who are detained in solitary confinement in prisons across the world, and about the need for robust and transparent checks and balances to prevent inhumane or degrading practices arising in places in which the primary aim is punishment, not treatment. This is particularly important for doctors, who must discharge patients' best interests, even when they run contrary to the best interests of an institution. While a sympathetic narrative helps the viewer to understand Eric's response to his harsh world, the reality of his extreme violence, and the resulting creation of new victims with each violent act, reflects a serious problem faced by prisons worldwide.Starred Up's examination of behavioural problems that arise early in life, impulsivity, criminal versatility, callousness, and low threshold for discharging violence, creates a raw dramatisation of the effects of antisocial personality disorder in close-up. Yet the known accumulation of men and women with underlying personality disorders in UK prisons, and our relative inability to deal with the condition once it has arisen—or to prevent it arising in the first place—speaks of societal, and medical, failure. Yet the investment in achieving solutions is minimal in financial terms, and largely operationally fragmented.For much of the film, Eric's personality disorder is in full emergence and O'Connell's unflinching performance underscores his increasingly apparent dangerousness. In Starred Up, Mackenzie has delivered a provocative film that achieves some beauty in adversity. No mean feat, this film will stay with you.Starred UpShow full captionDirected by David Mackenzie, written by Jonathan Asse. 2014. Distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures. On general release. http://www.fox.co.uk/cinema/starred_up-21335/21335View Large Image Figure ViewerDownload Hi-res image Download (PPT) Starred Up is an urgent, convulsive film about Eric, a 19-year-old man who is transferred into an adult prison in the UK earlier than usual because his violence can no longer be contained in a young offenders' institution. His passive compliance with the austere reception process on arrival in adult gaol belies a capacity for explosive anger, which soon emerges. Located in a single cell because of the risk he poses to other prisoners, Eric protects himself with a secreted razor blade, burnt into a melted plastic toothbrush, and begins to inflict instrumental violence on others. He seems to enjoy this violence, yet it also distresses him. Uncoordinated turf wars follow, resulting in episodes of segregation, until he briefly finds support and shelter in the prison's powerful hierarchy. For just a moment, a therapy group offers a glimpse of a different life trajectory. But as soon as the root cause of his anger is unmasked, a jarring reversion to homicidal rage takes its place and the cycle of violence repeats: it feels as though it might never end, until the system serves up a form of cold revenge. Director David Mackenzie uses the exceptional backdrop of Crumlin Road Gaol in Belfast to relate a bleak drama about the realities of imprisonment and the process of institutionalisation. Opened in 1845, and closed in 1996, Crumlin Road has historically detained men, women, and children, as well as being the site of 17 executions. It resembles many of the Victorian built prisons that are still in use in the UK today. Although it has since been refurbished as a tourist venue, Crumlin Road has lost none of its grim imposition. It is a near perfect setting for this story of childhood trauma and abuse, leading to early incarceration and criminality, with consequential extreme violence. In playing Eric, Jack O'Connell is simply exceptional, while Ben Mendelsohn finds an authentic counterpoint as his simmering father, Nev. Eric rails against the prison system time and again, but there is a seeming inevitability to the next, more blunted, phase of his detention, as he begins to wear the context well. Through the portrayal of Eric, Starred Up highlights the management of younger adults who are located in adult prisons, and of prisoners who require separation from others because they present a high risk of violence. It also raises questions about individuals who are detained in solitary confinement in prisons across the world, and about the need for robust and transparent checks and balances to prevent inhumane or degrading practices arising in places in which the primary aim is punishment, not treatment. This is particularly important for doctors, who must discharge patients' best interests, even when they run contrary to the best interests of an institution. While a sympathetic narrative helps the viewer to understand Eric's response to his harsh world, the reality of his extreme violence, and the resulting creation of new victims with each violent act, reflects a serious problem faced by prisons worldwide. Starred Up's examination of behavioural problems that arise early in life, impulsivity, criminal versatility, callousness, and low threshold for discharging violence, creates a raw dramatisation of the effects of antisocial personality disorder in close-up. Yet the known accumulation of men and women with underlying personality disorders in UK prisons, and our relative inability to deal with the condition once it has arisen—or to prevent it arising in the first place—speaks of societal, and medical, failure. Yet the investment in achieving solutions is minimal in financial terms, and largely operationally fragmented. For much of the film, Eric's personality disorder is in full emergence and O'Connell's unflinching performance underscores his increasingly apparent dangerousness. In Starred Up, Mackenzie has delivered a provocative film that achieves some beauty in adversity. No mean feat, this film will stay with you.