Grace (Brie Larson) comforts Jayden (Kaitlyn Dever) after a cryptic, chilling, reveal. (Short Term 12).
By Megan Hess
Short Term 12 (Cretton, 2013) is an unforgettable masterpiece. Emotional, relevant, and engaging, it keeps viewers on their toes from the very beginning. Nate (Rami Malek) has just arrived for his first day of work at Short Term 12, the foster-care facility where most of the film takes place. His co-workers tell him a humorous story about a resident escaping - partly to establish camaraderie, partly to familiarize him with the center's rules and policies. As is the norm at Short Term 12, the story doesn't end well (kind of a wake-up-call to Nate; happy endings are all he knows.) Will the film?
Unlike her naive coworker, Grace (Brie Larson), the protagonist of Short Term 12, knows firsthand about life's hardships. Her traumatic past led her to Short Term 12, where she uses her experiences to give other young people the help she never received, but desperately needed. She has become very good at helping others deal with their pain, but refuses to acknowledge her own...until two situations arise which force her to review the past: an unexpected, unwanted, pregnancy, and the arrival of a tough young woman all too similar to that younger version of herself who she always tries to forget.
Short Term 12 constantly wavers between dark and light. Seemingly happy moments get swallowed up by anger and sadness. It portrays a survivor's experience well - the way simplest things can trigger strong emotions and painful memories. Cretton isn't afraid to engage with difficult issues like child abuse (both physical and sexual) and self-harm, and he does it successfully, so that it never feels preachy or overly dramatic.
Unlike her naive coworker, Grace (Brie Larson), the protagonist of Short Term 12, knows firsthand about life's hardships. Her traumatic past led her to Short Term 12, where she uses her experiences to give other young people the help she never received, but desperately needed. She has become very good at helping others deal with their pain, but refuses to acknowledge her own...until two situations arise which force her to review the past: an unexpected, unwanted, pregnancy, and the arrival of a tough young woman all too similar to that younger version of herself who she always tries to forget.
Short Term 12 constantly wavers between dark and light. Seemingly happy moments get swallowed up by anger and sadness. It portrays a survivor's experience well - the way simplest things can trigger strong emotions and painful memories. Cretton isn't afraid to engage with difficult issues like child abuse (both physical and sexual) and self-harm, and he does it successfully, so that it never feels preachy or overly dramatic.
Grace opens up to Jaden in hope that she will reciprocate (Short Term 12).
Without the right cast, Cretton's excellent script and directing might not have lived up to their full potential, and Short Term 12 would have been a mediocre introduction, instead of a stellar debut. Fortunately for Cretton, he got three powerhouse leads: Brie Larson (Grace), Rami Malik, (Nate), and John Gallagher Jr. (Mason).
Ma (Brie Larson) contemplates her dismal life in Room (Abrahamson, 2015).
Since her Academy-Award winning role in Room, Larson has become the newest industry darling, but many directors (Cretton included) recognized her talent long before her Oscar-winning performance. She has a long history of indie film work, with roles in Scott Pilgrim V.S The World (Wright, 2010), The Spectacular Now (Ponsoldt, 2013), Don Jon (Gordon-Levitt, 2013), and more. While she consistently delivers a solid performance in every film, Short Term 12 is one of her career highlights. She and Cretton will be working together again soon on the upcoming adaptation of Jeanette Walls' memoir The Glass Castle.
Malek wears his character's signature hooded sweatshirt in a promotional photo for Mr. Robot (Esmail, 2015).
Malek's resume looks a little bit lackluster when compared to Larson's in terms of film work; his credits include Night at the Museum, (Levy, 2006), Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian (Levy, 2009) and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 (Condon, 2012). However, Malek's success comes on the smaller screen, with parts in 24 (Cochran, Surnow, 2001-2010) and the Avatar: The Last Airbender (DiMartino, Konietzko, 2005-2008) spinoff, The Legend of Korra (DiMartino, Konietkzo, 2012-2014) before his leading role in the USA Network's sleeper hit, Mr. Robot, where he plays a character vastly different from his bit part in Short Term 12. With Mr. Robot, this versatile talent has proved himself as an actor to watch, and someone who has grown past the sort of parts he used to get in film - but Cretton knew his worth all along. Perhaps he will call on him again for another future project.
A young John Gallagher Jr. (left) with his Spring Awakening co-stars, Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff.
John Gallagher Jr. has something his other co-stars don't: a Tony Award. He won it for his role as the sensitive, troubled, schoolboy Moritz Steifel in the original Broadway cast of Spring Awakening (Mayer, 2006-2009). He also starred in the original Broadway production of the Green Day rock opera American Idiot (Mayer, 2010-2011).
Like Malek, Gallagher Jr.'s resume includes a lot of TV work. One of Aaron Sorkin's favorites, he had parts in both The West Wing (Sorkin, 1999-2006) and The Newsroom (Sorkin, 2012-2014). He also played a main role in the HBO miniseries based off of Elizabeth Strout's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Olive Kitteridge (Choldenko, 2014). Another underutilized talent, Gallagher's theater training gives him an extra depth especially evident in Short Term 12. More directors (both onstage and off) would do well to cast him. He makes his return to the Broadway stage this year in the Roundabout Theater Company revival of the Eugene O'Neil classic Long Day's Journey Into Night.
Like Malek, Gallagher Jr.'s resume includes a lot of TV work. One of Aaron Sorkin's favorites, he had parts in both The West Wing (Sorkin, 1999-2006) and The Newsroom (Sorkin, 2012-2014). He also played a main role in the HBO miniseries based off of Elizabeth Strout's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Olive Kitteridge (Choldenko, 2014). Another underutilized talent, Gallagher's theater training gives him an extra depth especially evident in Short Term 12. More directors (both onstage and off) would do well to cast him. He makes his return to the Broadway stage this year in the Roundabout Theater Company revival of the Eugene O'Neil classic Long Day's Journey Into Night.
The highly skilled actors in Short Term 12 can't take all the credit for its success. Cretton has an eye for the human experience which makes him a valuable commodity in an industry ever-focused on sequels, explosions and spandex. Don't be surprised if, in a few years, he has an Oscar nomination - for writing, directing, or both. Short Term 12 - a film whose only flaw is a little bit of predictability - has set the bar very high for Cretton. I hope he keeps exceeding our expectations.
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