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Short Term 12 Movie Review

Short Term 12 is a 2013 indie drama film directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and starring Brie Larson. It’s such a great, emotionally powerful film.

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“Everything good in my life is because of you“

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Calm and competent, Grace is a young counselor at a California care unit for at-risk teens. However, her cool facade begins to crack in the pressure cooker atmosphere as she and some of the unruly residents are reminded of past and present abuses. It’s obvious from the first moment onward that the director himself really has an understanding of these care units, and that level of attention to detail and care given to this subject matter is what makes the film so moving.

One of its strongest aspects is the tone to it, which ranges from dramatic to even comedic to heartwarming to truly heartbreaking. Yes, sometimes it can get very depressing and dark, but that is the subject matter talking, but the tone is mostly very rich and varied, and that made the film more enjoyable than if it were just misery porn.

What Brie Larson did here is truly to be admired. Yes, in her first truly big role, she proved to the world just what a powerhouse actress she is. This performance is remarkable. Her Grace is a very powerful female figure – she is so admirably strong and seemingly holding it together, but also highly vulnerable and with a troubled past. That duality to the nature of the role made her performance truly stand out as both complex and stupendous. The fact that she wasn’t even nominated for an Oscar when in reality this was one of the greatest performances of 2013 just goes to show how the Academy did not appreciate indies back then.

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I also really liked John Gallagher, Jr. in his very interesting role. He is this cool, happy guy, and he wants to be with Grace and have a child, but she doesn’t know whether she wants it or not. I found their relationship wonderful and very moving throughout. It ended on such a sweet note.

Rami Malek as Nate is more forgettable, but Lakeith Stanfield is excellent as Marcus, and Kaitlyn Dever is superb in one of her earlier roles. The film features a bunch of great performances from newcomers who will have a terrific career later on, which makes it very important and fascinating in a way.

My main problem with the movie is the Jayden subplot. I liked it, but I did not love it. The self-harm was well explored, and her abuse in the family by her father too. However, Grace’s backstory ended up being exactly the same, which did lead to a powerful moment between the two when they destroyed his car, but still it felt a bit too convenient and simply implausible and overly calculated for me. I liked it, but I did not love it as much as the rest of the film.

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So, at the end of the day, Short Term 12 isn’t as amazing as it was for me when I first saw it back in 2013. I still love it, but I do not adore it as I find it a bit exhausting to watch, and again overly convenient. Still though, the pacing is great, the direction from Destin Daniel Cretton is truly phenomenal and I hope that he makes another great movie in the future, and the film is simply very human and optimistic at the end of the day as it shows that these people truly do care for these kids, and that there is hope for them all. A lovely sentiment indeed.

Short Term 12 is such an emotionally powerful film that ranks among the best of 2013. The tone is rich and varied, its difficult subject matter is handled with a lot of care and nuance, and although a bit too convenient near the end, many of its scenes are so moving, and the humanistic approach to it made it truly beautiful. It also features a plethora of great performances from at the time terrific newcomers with Brie Larson in particular stealing the show with such a powerhouse turn in a very rich role.