Thought One
Short Term 12’s an indie with no award nominations of consequence, no obvious marketing hook. The only thing behind it is substantial buzz among critics and indie audiences. Yeah, it came out in August in the US, but its release defies the logic fed to us by New Zealand’s distributors. We’ve been told before that the only delays that matter are those of million-dollar grossers, high-end blockbusters, prestige pics. This film should’ve gone the way of higher profile, more bankable films like Mud, Bling Ring, You’re Next and Cosmopolis – straight to DVD.
So yeah, the limited release of a small American film with truckloads of indie buzz is a risk. And props to Madman for picking up that risk. But isn’t that messed up?
Thought Two
Short Term 12’s got problems. As it moves towards its third act, the film starts indicating that it’s tying up thematic loose ends. You can see the cogs turning, the pieces clicking into place, the story and the characters linking in ways they don’t have to and don’t need to. Short Term 12’s third act is so workshopped that it starts undermining its characters’ journeys. It’s got problems.
Thought Three
Short Term 12’s not an attempt to accurately depict the socioeconomic realities of the life of children and workers in a foster-care facility. Class hangs over the characters, their autonomy and their feelings of self-worth, but it's rarely explicitly foregrounded. It’s not a docudrama.
Thought Four
Short Term 12’s a set of character studies – of care-worker Grace, of quiet 18-year-old Marcus, of surly teen Jayden, of Grace’s goofy colleague/boyfriend Mason. All these characters, and everyone else working and living in Short Term 12, are looking for connections, relationships, trust. Not everyone’s willing to let their guard down, though; the characters all know they’ll have to make themselves vulnerable if they want to actually build relationships, but few of them want to run that risk.
Thought Five
As such, Short Term 12’s performances are all about trust and vulnerability. As Marcus and Jayden, played by Keith Stanfield and Kaitlyn Dever, are fantastic at making the wall between them and everyone else a tangible structure, one built of necessity. They’re also fantastic at letting you into how much of a struggle it is for them to remove that wall, to let people in.
Thought Six
Short Term 12’s hype is also Brie Larson’s hype, which is as it should be. Playing Grace, Larson’s got the hardest job – Grace knows she’s got to be someone the kids can trust, but she shares their vulnerability, their lack of trust in others, their fear of being unable to connect. The big difference between her and the kids is that her wall is better developed. The film may be obvious about that contradiction (at one point, Mason literally yells about it), but she nails the nuances, right down to the slightly self-conscious offhand way she talks to the kids, Jayden especially. It’s a hell of a performance and deserves its time in the sun.
Thought Seven
Short Term 12 works because it’s hopeful. Writer-director Destin Cretton could have treated a home for at-risk youth as a place of sadness and fear, where teens wait in limbo until they're released into an unfeeling and vicious world. Instead, it’s full of light. Its walls aren’t colourful, but the cream colour isn’t depressing; there’s a perpetual mid-morning/mid-afternoon light in the facility, making everything a bit warmer. Short Term 12 isn’t about a depository for the hopeless; it’s about a transitional space for those with something to look forward to.
Thought Eight
Short Term 12’s an incredible film. Go see it.
