Putting together the top ten Best Movies of 2014 has been a really tough job, as there have been so many truly fantastic films over the last twelve months.
Starred Up
We are into the top three today and are edging closer to finding out what the #1 movie is going to be. There have been some wonderful British movies this year - and we have already heaped praise on Locke and Pride in our countdown. Starred Up is another British movie that has really had us raving this year, and it is in at number three.
Starred Up saw David Mackenzie back in the director's chair for the first time since You Instead, while Jonathan Asser was on hand to write a truly riveting screenplay - this was the first script by Asser to be made into a movie.
However, the standout star of Starred Up was, without doubt, Jack O'Connell, who blasted onto the scene in what was one of the breakthrough performances of the year. He has since starred in '71 and will lead the cast in Angelina Jolie's Unbroken - he really is someone to keep an eye on over the next couple of years as he is on course for superstardom.
O'Connell takes on the role of Eric Love, a violent and troubled teenager making the difficult transition from a young offenders' institute to adult prison. He seems to be destined for a life behind bars, but the prison's unconventional therapist (Friend) is determined to help Eric find a way through, assisted by of one of the prison's longest serving inmates - Neville (Mendelsohn) - who just happens to be Eric's father.
There really are no words for how great a prison movie Starred Up really is as it is action packed, gripping, as well as being gritty and dark. Of course, it does cover familiar ground - there are only so many stories you can tell inside prison walls - and yet Mackenzie has delivered it in a way that is exciting and feels incredibly new and fresh.
For me, O'Connell is the actor that really shines in Starred Up as he delivers a tour de force performance. He totally immerses himself in this role and this character and finds the perfect mix of cockiness, anger, and vulnerability. This really is a perfect character study of a young man that is as visceral as it is moving.
O'Connell may be less experienced than some of the actors around him and yet he holds the screen and the attention of the audience like an old pro - it really is a captivating performance that will help make this actor a star. Ben Mendelsohn is also excellent as O'Connell's onscreen father, and the scenes that they share together are some of the film's most electric.
Starred Up is a movie that deserves every piece of praise that has come its way, as it is a raw and relentless piece of British cinema that will captivate and keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. The terrific climax to the film is also something that you won't forget.
I know that we have seen a whole host of prison movies hit the big screen over the years; however, Starred Up really is one of the best. The movie puts the audience right in the middle of prison life and the prison mindset so you get a powerful and raw experience when you watch the film. One of the biggest British movie triumphs of the year and a must see if you love this genre of film.