FILM critics have acclaimed Derby actor Jack O'Connell for his "exhilarating" performance in 71, which hits cinema screens tomorrow.
The 24-year-old rising star – who has 175,000 followers on Twitter – plays the lead role in the non-stop thriller about the 1971 conflict in Belfast between Catholics and Protestants. Jack, from Alvaston, plays the role of Private Gary Hook.
Following a bloody conflict between his regiment, the Royal Ulster Constabulary and local republicans in a Catholic neighbourhood, Private Hook finds himself abandoned behind enemy lines.
The film, a tense thriller that reveals the dynamics of the conflict through a series of twists and characters from all sides of the fight, follows Hook as he tries to find his way back to his barracks.
Reviews for the film and Jack's performance have been very positive.
Watch a video trailer of the film here:
Scott Feinberg, from the Hollywood Reporter, said there were "several unforgettable sequences" and that the movie could "could thrust O'Connell into next year's awards conversation".
He added: "One chase, in particular, will leave you as breathless as O'Connell."
Edward Davis, of film review site, Indiewire, said: "Trust us when we say English actor Jack O'Connell is the real deal. He's blown us away twice in 2014, once via the prison drama Starred Up and again with 71."
Elsewhere, Oscar Rickett, from The Independent, said Jack had "proved himself as one of Britain's most exhilarating young actors".
In an interview with the newspaper, the film's director Yann Demange praised Jack's performance.
"I think he's brave and committed and incredible to watch," Demange said.
"He's got an old-school quality, a raw, vivid masculinity that he's quite at ease with and a soulfulness and complexity that were right for the role."
Intu Derby's Showcase Cinema de Lux will show the film on Friday at 11:20am, 4.25pm and 10.05pm, with the next showing at 12.25am in the early hours of Saturday.
See What's On on Saturday for a full review of 71.
