Short Term 12 (2013)

Short Term 12 (2013)

Directed by: Destin Daniel Cretton

Starring: Brie Larsson, John Gallagher Jr, Kaitlyn Dever, Keith Stanfield

Certificate: 15

Genre: Drama - Indie

Short Term 12 is a low budget indie film based on the namesake short film written and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. This film follows two main characters, boyfriend and girlfriend, Grace (Brie Larsson) and Mason (John Gallagher Jr) who are supervising staff members at a local residential treatment facility for children from troubled backgrounds.

As we see Grace and Mason working at this facility we can see the friendly, supportive connections these two have with the children in particular a new girl called Jayden (Kaitlyn Dever) and a teenage boy who is soon to leave called Marcus (Keith Stanfield) whose problems mirror the issues of Grace and Mason themselves and what they have been through in their past. Throughout the film we see the development of the relationships between these four main characters and the relationship of Grace and Mason.

I had never previously heard of this film before today, but I came across it on Netflix and have not regretted watching it one bit. This film has you cycling through facial expressions and emotions throughout the whole narrative, from smiling with happiness, to laughing at the comedy, and being in tears at the more upsetting themes in this film which are very tense to watch.

One of the many strong elements of this film is the characterisation of the different personalities on the film from the adults to the kids. As an audience, you care for the people in the film, you become emotionally attached, you care about characters actions and emotions throughout the exposition which epitomises the excellent job Destin Daniel Cretton has done with portraying these characters.This sense of realism of the film was also created by the frequently use handheld camera which makes the audience feel like were there spectating on the unfolding events and following the drama as it happens in real time.

The other predominant element in this film is the acting. Keith Stanfield and Kaitlyn Dever were incredible as the their teenage roles showing and most of the emotional scenes in this film came from their performances however Brie Larsson stole the show. This film was her breakthrough film and there is no surprise that this feature got her noticed, in which she recently won an Oscar for her role in Room (2016). Her incredibly realistic representation of this character was sensational, showing effectively her psychological trouble that has controlled her life from the past to showing heart warming emotion in her connections with the kids showing great chemistry with each member of the acting cast.

Despite only ever watching this film once, this film has truly had an impact on me this film and I would highly recommend people to watch this indie gem.

Pros:
Emotional storyline and script
Characterisation
Acting (In particular Brie Larsson)
Directing

Cons:
N/A

Rating: A