Short Term 12 — One Revelation Shy of Perfect

Caitlin Stow
Aug 28, 2017 · 3 min read

Written 7/21/2015

Led here by a Brie Larson binge I’ve been traveling along, I was pleasantly surprised by the effortless flow that persisted throughout this, quite honestly, over-played plot. A slight twist on the “shit that troubled kids go through and no one understands” story bent everything enough to make it all fit just right. Larson’s impressive acting aside, this was the first film that I’ve seen in years (outside of theaters) that I enjoyed enough to not need a side project while watching. That’s not to say that something like Steve Jobs (which required heavy crocheting while viewing for me to remain focused) wasn’t as excellent, if not more excellent, than this shaky, low budget drama, but there was something happening here that allowed me to be sucked into the tale without forcing it. Netflix should work on its synopsis writing, because the only thing that drew me to this movie initially was my curiosity about Brie Larson’s career.

“Grace, a compassionate young supervisor at a foster care facility, works with her boyfriend and colleague, Mason, to help at-risk teens. But when a new charge dredges up memories of her own troubled past, Grace’s tough exterior begins eroding.”

If we can ignore the failings of a third party summary, this film came quite close to perfect. The only complaints I might put forward are 1) a couple acting goofs by the supporting cast (which is absolutely to be expected when working with adolescents on a tight budget), and 2) the various moments when the script slipped into self-pitying melodrama.

However realistically self centered the characters might be, to have a truly perfect film I, at least, require some sort of emotional revelation that reaches higher than “I might be okay even though my past is shitty”. What my brain wanted me to glean from the story is a multilayered lesson. The top layer being something like “other people’s lives suck way more than yours and your ‘emotional problems’ are laughable”; the deepest level reaching into something more profound and original like “everyone is loveable.” Something in me while watching this didn’t allow me to reach those points emotionally, and I have yet to decide whether that was something lacking in the film or in my own mental positioning. Either way, Brie Larson probably deserved an Oscar nod for this performance (definitely more than Amy Adams and probably also Sandra Bullock) and my respect for her continues to grow with every role I witness.

Rating: Great. In my top 5 of 2013.

Perfect
1) August: Osage County
2) Her

Great
3) Short Term 12
4) The Wolf of Wall Street
5) World War Z

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