How entertaining? ★★★★☆
Thought provoking? ★★☆☆☆ 28 October 2013
This article is a review of SHORT TERM 12.
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“That’s fine, you don’t have to like me right now,” Grace (Brie Larson) to Jayden (Kaitlyn Dever)
As with Tim Bayliss (Kyle Secor) in HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET and John Carter (Noah Wyle) in E.R., we have our newbie as the audience way into a dense world containing its own rules. Nate (Rami Malek) has joined the Short Term 12 organisation. “We just keep them until the county decides what to do,” states Grace, the boss of the team that has the day shift. It is a facility for housing troubled teenagers. At first it seems like a prison, then the realisation comes that they are the victims. The residents have been separated from families because of abuse. A commonplace stay is under a year, though they’re a few who have resided longer. Marcus (Keith Stanfield) is one, about to leave after three years.
As with Tim Bayliss (Kyle Secor) in HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET and John Carter (Noah Wyle) in E.R., we have our newbie as the audience way into a dense world containing its own rules. Nate (Rami Malek) has joined the Short Term 12 organisation. “We just keep them until the county decides what to do,” states Grace, the boss of the team that has the day shift. It is a facility for housing troubled teenagers. At first it seems like a prison, then the realisation comes that they are the victims. The residents have been separated from families because of abuse. A commonplace stay is under a year, though they’re a few who have resided longer. Marcus (Keith Stanfield) is one, about to leave after three years.
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Our insertion into the narrative is at a point of major flux:
- Nate is a gentle do-gooder, immediately putting his foot in it, “I always wanted to work with under-privileged kids.” His new charges’ response at the well-meaning/unintentionally patronising introduction is opprobrium-filled.
- Marcus (Stanfield giving off a young Mos Def aura) has walls built around him so thick, yet so porous and sensitive. The unvocalised fear of departing is palpable and aggressive. Marcus turning 18 is imminent.
- Jayden has also just joined. So we get a double-initiation. No bedroom doors are allowed to be closed due to suicide risk. No swearing. No razors or scissors. Admonishments are of the time out variety. Alarms go off for runaways. Once outside of the grounds, the only recourse the carers have is to talk them back in. There is the strong sense that SHORT TERM 12 could get very dark at any moment.
- The light comes from the dual focus of Grace and colleague/boyfriend Mason (John Gallagher Jr.). Their relationship is believed by them to be a secret. They are imbued with warmth and intelligence and a patience bordering on the saintly; for all that they are very human. The two are products of the foster system. Mason is the puppy dog, tolerating the recent rebuffing. As he states to his love, “We haven’t had sex in nine days, three hours.” Grace guarding her backstory, and finding out she is pregnant, adds more layers to the fine-tuned drama.
The filmmakers and actors get it is so right – what might have been trite, sentimental or gruesome is weaved around. A snapshot of individuals coping to various degrees with trauma is well handled. The positivity emanating from SHORT TERM 12 cannot but win you over. There is though the nagging sense of dramatic crescendo that undermines the sense of social realism. It’s not THE CLASS, for instance. A minor quibble. (Is it just me, or does Larson’s hair keep randomly changing colour thoughout?)
A film soaked in rage and frustration, articulating what the characters cannot themselves.