Image by Melk Hagelslag from Pixabay There are some movies you watch during a specific time in your life that work so well because of that. There are other movies that leave a powerful impression on you because of just how raw and emotional the storytelling is. So what happens when these elements are combined? For me, you get Short Term 12 which remains one of my favorite indie movies of this century.
Why is this movie worth your time? Keep reading to find out. 😊 What’s It About [NOTE: This section contains minor spoilers for “Short Term 12.” If you’d rather see the film for yourself, skip to the next section.] Short Term 12 follows Grace Howard (Brie Larson), a supervisor of the eponymously-named group home for troubled adolescents. Despite the nature of her work, Grace is a rather emotionally withdrawn person even with her boyfriend Mason (John Gallagher, Jr.) with whom she lives and works alongside. Despite issues in her personal life, Grace’s energy is almost universally devoted to being there for the young residents of Short Term 12 such as Marcus (Lakeith Stanfield) who’s on the verge of turning 18 and thus struggling with the eventuality of leaving the facility. Over the course of the film, Grace strongly bonds with the facility’s newer arrival Jayden (Kaitlyn Dever) over shared histories of issues with their fathers and self-harm. Drama ensues when the father intervenes in Jayden’s life, provoking Grace to action to protect Jayden from further abuse at his hands. All the while, she must keep a watchful eye over Marcus and maintain her rocky relationship with Mason. Ultimately, Grace’s story is one of a woman who finds to work through her own issues she must help those like her and build up to opening up to those who care about her most. Why It’s Worth Watching For me, a movie with an adequate (or even mediocre) plot can still leave a good impression if I enjoy watching the characters exist in their world and deal with the particular ups and downs of their lives. To be clear, the plot of Short Term 12 is far better than just okay. In fact, it really doesn’t have a plot at all. Destin Daniel Cretton, who wrote the screenplay in addition to directing the film, crafted a narrative centering on days in the lives of troubled teens at a group home and the staff who watch over and care for them without feeling a kind of artificial pressure to force some kind of over-the-top plot unbefitting of a story like this. There are plenty of great movies without plots, and I personally would put Short Term 12 up there on that list. In writing this story, Cretton allows the interactions between the characters to breathe. This, of course, serves all of the incredible actors who add so much life and energy. And boy, do they. Not a single performer in the movie feels out of place as a weak link compared to any of the others. While some inferior films allow their leading actor or actress to overshadow the enjoyable nuances of its supporting players, Cretton’s direction layers a communal atmosphere in which every scene can have its momentum driven by one performer for a moment before suddenly (yet not undeservingly) being taken by another in the same scene. Nowadays, some of the names attached to Short Term 12 are now rising stars (notably Lakeith Stanfield and Rami Malek) who leave their mark on the supporting cast while also playing to their particular character’s role in the overall story of this group home. But they could have also drawn attention away from the lesser-known performers here such as John Gallagher, Jr. and Kaitlyn Dever. But it’s the opposite: every single member of this cast builds each other up and successfully pull off what I assume was Cretton’s vision for making a movie about the importance of community. All that being said, I would understand if you watch Short Term 12 coming away with the name of only one actor on your mind: Brie Larson. Easily the biggest name of the cast (particularly now) thanks to her Oscar-winning breakthrough performance in Lenny Abrahamson’s Room and her blockbuster turn as the eponymous superhero in Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s Captain Marvel. But looking back at her filmography, I challenge anybody to argue that her performance in this movie wasn’t the one where she achieved greatness as an actor. While not as heartbreakingly exhausting as her portrayal of a captive mother in Room, Larson’s take on Grace as a mentor and caretaker for troubled youth packs all of the emotional punch of any great performance that I’ve seen in the past decade. Needless to say, seeing Larson lead this incredibly likeable cast helped me better understand why she’s lauded as one of the best younger actors on the scene today. But on top of all of those things which make Short Term 12 a fantastic indie flick—from the pacing and structure to the cast—is the sheer amount of heart that Cretton pours from his soul into this movie. Based on the short film which served as his thesis project at San Diego State University, the genesis for this movie at its core was Cretton’s time working at a group facility for teenagers. But in adapting his short form into a feature-length screenplay, Cretton interviewed former workers at institutions like the one in the movie and teenagers who had lived in them. Put together with Cretton’s own experiences, the film is undoubtedly one of the purest examples of “writing what you know” that I’ve seen in modern cinema. From start to finish, it is clear that Cretton’s primary goal is to portray the dark and (often) unseen or ignored struggles of adolescence for people coming from less-than-ideal backgrounds without exploiting them and their stories. Rather, he aims to humanize young people who struggle through such things as abusive parents, suicidal ideations, self-harm, depression, and a myriad of other ailments and obstacles that make going through puberty all the more insufferable. This would be more than enough, but Cretton’s portrayal of these specific teenage tales is paralleled with Grace’s own inability to confront, process, and deal with her own trauma from childhood even as an adult. Much of this is due to Grace’s detached nature, instead focusing on investing all of her energy into being there for the kids in her care, that holds her back from dealing with things in the way that she tells her kids to do. As an adult whose day job is to serve as a teacher and mentor to teens with various emotional struggles, this push-and-pull inherent to Grace’s life experience was incredibly relatable. But if that wasn’t enough to convince you to watch Short Term 12, you should know that all of the themes and scenarios that Cretton and his team of cast and crew create are never played in a way that comes off as cheesy or overtly sentimental. There is a non-excessive rawness to Grace’s internal struggle and the teens’ outward struggles that consistently avoids entering territory reminiscent of second-rate family movies that try to be “wholesome” but instead end up being rote mediocrity. In a very special sense, this movie is (in my humble opinion) the true definition of what a good version of “wholesome” can be. If I still haven’t persuaded to check this movie, please just trust me and seek it out. It is more than worth your time and (if necessary) money. To be fair, Cretton has made some other great movies from the legal drama Just Mercy (starring Michael B. Jordan) to Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. But, without a doubt, this is his best film as of now. I dare you to prove me wrong. 😊 Have I convinced you to check out Destin Daniel Cretton’s Short Term 12? What’s a movie that you feel is underappreciated? What opinions of mine do you find absolutely ridiculous? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, this has been… Yours Truly, Amateur Analyst
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Austin McManusI have no academic or professional background in film production or criticism; I simply love watching and talking about movies. Archives
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