Released: August 23rd, 2013
Rated: R
Studio: Cinedigm
Staring: Brie Larson, John Gallagher, Jr., Kaitlyn
Dever, Rami Malek, Keith Stanfield, Kevin Hernandez, Melora Walters, Stephanie
Beatriz, Lydia Du Veaux, Alex Calloway, Frantz Turner, Diana-Maria Riva
Directed by: Destin Daniel Cretton
Written by: Destin Daniel Cretton
Personal Bias Alert:
likes Brie Larson, likes
realistic cinema
8 of 10
I
was unsure going into this film if I would buy Brie Larson playing a reserved
character. I was first introduced to her
through her role on the television show “United States of Tara,” where she played
a very forward young woman that rarely kept quiet. She was great in the role, but I’ve got to
admit that when I think of her, I remember her in full Viking woman attire
sitting seductively (and comically) on a cake.
That’s not an image that syncs with the mousey character she seemed to play
in this film’s trailer.
I
didn’t have to wait long for my fears to be assuaged, though. “Short Term 12” starts with a story told by
Mason (John Gallagher, Jr.) to his fellow line staff at a group home for
teenagers. It’s a wonderfully told story
that sucks you right into the world, and I quickly forgot my reservations. By the time Mason finished, I was chuckling
along with the group and ready for the explosion of energy that interrupts the
scene. The pacing for the rest of the
film follows suit, mixing realistic moments that seem to drag on regardless of
whether they are good or bad with abrupt outbursts of emotion and pain that can
no longer be contained. It’s an ebb and
flow that I recognize from real life, which really helped make the little world
that the story exists in seem more expansive.
It’s
a little world because the budget of the film was so small (less than 1
million), and it’s a testament to the writing that they were able to do so much
with such a paltry amount of money. The
script attracted the supremely talented leads, Larson and Gallagher, without
whom this story easily could have fallen flat.
They form the central couple and the teenager’s main allies in the film,
and almost nothing in the story occurs outside their purview. Larson is the lead and the more troubled of
the two, making her performance the flashier and the more often singled out aspect
of the film. Rightfully so, as she shows
the many ways that her past has shaped and is still shaping her future. It’d be a shame to ignore Gallagher,
though. His performance is just as
essential, showing how a more well-adjusted person handles the stresses they
encounter while bringing a levity that makes the whole thing go down smooth.
There
is a problem, at times, with the emotional outbursts being too dramatic. I have no doubt that the problems the
characters face are true to their setting, but the entire movie takes place
over such a short period of time that the buildup seems like a bit too much. I won’t list them all out, but suffice it to
say that by the time the climax comes, you can’t blame Larson’s character for
losing it. Anyone would be broken.
There’s
an odd balance the movie tries to strike, surrounding its essentially decent
characters with the often horrific realities of what people are capable
of. It leads to some riveting moments of
hard-earned honesty, but there are times when writer/director Destin Daniel
Cretton fails to maneuver the tricky story between all the rocks. As often as it riveted me, there was always offsetting
moments of melodrama, and I could never shake the sensation of seeing the
strings being pulled. Watching the movie
was like being told a great story, but one you’ve heard so many times that you
know the beats by heart.
Other Notes:
Ø Some
of the performances weren’t on par with Larson and Gallagher, but none were so
bad that they derailed the film.
Ø The
mood is a strange mixture of comfort and pain, sorrow and joy, sentimentality
and reality. I loved it.
Ø Floyd
gets me all sweaty, too.
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