Short Term 12 is a centre for at-risk youth, as well as the title for Destin Daniel Cretton’s deeply moving first feature – one inspired by his own time at a short-term home for volatile teens. Focusing on the knotty relationships between the counsellors and the youths, Cretton makes an honest and thrillingly authentic film that is small in budget yet enormous at heart.
The shelter is a place filled with hope and rage, of teens struggling to better themselves as they deal with their own demons. Meanwhile, the stories of hurt and neglect extend beyond the kids, but the counsellors too. Grace (a transcendent Brie Larson) is trying to inspire kids that have been victims of abuse, but her efforts to help a smart-aleck suicide risk, Jayden (Kaitlyn Dever), makes her confront her own damaged home life. At Grace’s side is a cheery, shaggy-haired counsellor, her boyfriend Mason (John Gallagher Jr.), who tries to inspire rapper wannabe Marcus (a strong Keith Stanfield).
What makes Short Term 12 so thrilling and heart-breaking are the little moments, of touching bonds forged between the characters or of hilarious stories shared between the group. Cretton’s life experiences give his setting small nuances that make it feel complete. He directs with power, helping Larson deliver a performance that forces her to project strength and vulnerability within the same scene.
Cretton also builds the details of his characters gradually, so we slowly find out what is keeping them in their shells. One scene where Jayden tells Grace a vivid story about a shark and an octopus, a symbol for her abusive home life, is the most heartbreaking moment of any film this year.
Short Term 12 earns its emotions and treats its characters with love, despite their flaws.
