Shot sequentially and on location in a Victorian prison in Belfast, with a shaky but minutely
calibrated camera style, in at times barely intelligible British prison slang (which actually bolsters the primal impact of the film), Starred Up is no mere depiction but a jolting immersion in the claustrophobic mix of violence and vulnerability that is prison life, and it's powered by Jack O'Connell's riveting performance as violent criminal Eric Love.