Starred up sold out

Young offender Eric (Jack O'Connell) is being moved up to an adult prison where he will have to fend for himself among hardened cons. Despite the title's glamorous ring, it seems that the only way for Eric is down, having been written off as a lost cause by prison governor Haynes. Yet within the walls of his new home Eric finds two very different mentors; the first, a hollow-eyed therapist who believes that anger management can help this troubled youth escape his violent past, a claim which invites derision and hostility in equal measure; the second, his father – a battle-hardened inmate with whom (in the script's greatest act of dramatic contrivance) he now shares a prison wing.

The real power of the film comes from O'Connell's electrified and electrifying performance – a sinewy symphony of volatility which makes his presence felt not merely in the cells and corridors of the drama, but right there in the auditorium; you half expect him to jump out of the screen and remonstrate forcibly with the audience.

Students 3,50 euro, others 7,50 euro.