Screenplay: Destin Daniel Cretton
Starring: Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr., Keith Stanfield, Kaitlyn Dever, Rami Malek
Year: 2013
Language: English
UK rental release: March 2014
IMDb
Rotten Tomatoes
Let's take a trip to the United States this time around. Recently released, Short Term 12 is a fantastic indie film, with a relatively well known star, who deserves higher accolade for her performance in this low budget drama from Destin Daniel Cretton.
Grace (Brie Larson, Don Jon, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World) works at Short Term 12, a care home for troubled teenagers. As the main support for the young residents and the backbone to the whole operation, she has to remain strong and resolute at all times. Not just for the kids, mind you, but for the rest of the staff as well.
Fellow worker Mason (John Gallagher Jr., Whatever Works, Margaret) is the light hearted spirit of the home. Always first to share a funny tale, he's very popular within the centre. No matter how secretive he tries to be though, all the teens have picked up that he is Grace's secret boyfriend.
Nate (Rami Malek, The Master) has just started at Short Term 12 and gets a sharp kick of reality as one of the teens, Sammy (Alex Calloway) makes a break for the exit, during the middle of one of Mason's stories. On medication, Sammy sits within his own world, but keeps himself amused with his jolts to freedom.
Once the three of them catch the young man, while Nate struggles to comprehend what's just occurred, Mason nonchalantly finishes his comical tale...welcome to Short Term 12!
Marcus (newcomer Keith Stanfield) is the oldest of the teenagers. A rapper, with hard but deep lyrics bursting to get out, he is turning 18 soon which means he has to leave the centre. A farewell party is planned for him, but he seems very underwhelmed. There's clearly more on his mind. To mix things up further, a new girl is turning up at Short Term 12. Jayden (Kaitlyn Dever, J. Edgar), has been hopping from home to home for some time now, thanks to her violent outbursts.
She's stubborn, convinced that she'll be back with her Dad in no time at all. Her initial petulance makes it very difficult for Grace to connect with her, as she tries her best to find common ground between them both. Slowly, Grace manages to reach her with gentle kindness and through their mutual enjoyment of sketching.
Yet, as she delves deeper into Jayden's inner pain, paired with the news that she's pregnant, Grace has a journey of her own to follow, as she falls deeper into her own insecurities and hidden past.
Based on the Cretton's short film of the same name (which also starred Keith Stanfield), Short Term 12 was shot in just twenty days on a budget of less than a million. This doesn't deter from the film's obvious quality, however.
As it opens, we're treated to a beautiful over the shoulder tracking shot, leading up to the centre, the crisp high definition perfectly ensnaring the natural lighting of the external shots. There are some stunningly chosen angles in some of the montages too, breaking out between staff members, the teenagers and the surroundings of this magical, if tumultuous, lair.
With the handheld shots covering the main meat of the shooting, it may sound like a heady mix of techniques at play. Yet, pleasantly, they are handled with subtlety, as not to overpower the other elements and wares that this film possesses.
Even though chaptered by a few locked-off shots of the exterior of the centre, Cretton has pipped for the predictably obvious, slightly-shaky handheld filming approach for his picture, which is so commonly used in hard hitting dramas of this ilk. Nonetheless, I can see no other way of capturing this heart warming, yet heart wrenching tale so eloquently. It's the right choice to pair up with the screenplay.
In fact, both Larson and Gallagher Jr. auditioned by Skype after receiving this fine script...but more on them later!
The screenplay is cooked up from a cracking recipe of dialogue, with mixed notes of both sharp writing and ad-libbed moments. One chapter that really stands out is Jayden's octopus story. Written with such suffocated passion, it's a beautifully painful story; an insight into Jayden's anguish. Kaitlyn Dever handles these words with a really touching performance. In fact, all the young cast members are superb, especially Keith Stanfield as Marcus.
Initially, he paints a stereotypical portrait of a young troubled teen, brimming with attitude and a disregard for his peers. However, this veneer slowly washes away throughout the film, as he continually surprises you with glimpses of depth and melancholy, enriching the complex tapestry of his character with patient and evolving brush strokes. I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between his character and John Gallagher Jr.'s Mason. In his moments, he elevates himself above the whole cast, including Larson. I hope that he has a bright future with such a bright talent. 
Amongst these fresh, grounded performances shines our star, Brie Larson. Her natural poise and genuine persona illuminate the character of Grace to such subliminal effect that she both manages to blend amongst the rest of the cast while still soaring as the lead character. Through her most slight of changes in expression, you're frequently reminded of just how great she is.
For example, her subtle eye movements are comparable to only a few actors that I've seen in my film watching life so far (most of my actual life, of course!), such as Al Pacino and Christian Bale; a passivity that has true depth in the tiniest of iterations. Demure, broken, vital and delicate, it's a gently stunning performance that doesn't steal opportunities from the other actors, while allowing us all to her talent for what it is... absolute honest brilliance!
And, with Larson pinning it all together, along with all the other incredible performers surrounding her, this picture is a true actors film. And thanks to its organic nature and compact running time (just 95 minutes) it's tight, neat and presented in a perfect little bubble. Indie Gold!
A just winner of three Independent Spirit Awards, Short Term 12 is a story of young adults from traumatic lives, looked after by those with their own. And if you don't cry once, not even the slightest tear...well...I don't even think that's possible!
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