Short Term 12

Synopsis: Grace (Brie Larson) is a supervisor at a foster-care facility for teenagers at risk. With her boyfriend and co-worker, Mason (John Gallagher Jnr), she grapples with the daily dramas of the troubled residents. When Jayden (Kaitlyn Dever) arrives at the home, she and Grace strike up a tentative connection. Eventually the troubles that surface in Jayden’s past lead Grace to assess her own suppressed past and its impact upon her life.

Social workers in our society often go unacknowledged but when we see a film such as this it reminds us of the critical importance of people who bring some measure of hope to those who have suffered so much so young.

Short Term 12 is firmly in the genre of social realism and for many who have had first-hand experience of youth off the rails, it may well be close to the bone. Rather than take a completely earnest approach, however, writer-director Destin Cretton opts for moments of gentle humour. And whilst each of the kids has serious problems, they are presented in an affectionate light, thus helping to bond us with them and softening what could be a seriously depressing film.

In films of this nature the authenticity of the script and acting are paramount and all concerned live up to the challenge. Brie Larson, coming from a background of teen-oriented films and TV shows, displays a maturity to her acting and captures masterfully the delicate dichotomy between her own adult sense of responsibility for the kids and her inability to speak openly, even to Mason, about her inner demons. John Gallagher Jnr is engaging and touching as Mason, another selfless, warm individual, who cannot help but be hurt by his girlfriend’s secretive ways.

Among the characters housed in the short term facility are Sammy (Alex Calloway), a near-mute kid overly attached to his collection of furry toys, Afro-American Marcus (Keith Stanfield) who is constantly brawling with Luis (Kevin Hernandez). However it is Jayden who stands out and presents a huge challenge to the workers and to the other kids. We see Jayden and Grace drawing closer, both fond of sketching, and as they sit quietly drawing each other, they chat and discover the commonalities in their lives. Small moments, such as Jayden reading to Grace a children’s story she has written, about a trusting octopus and a nasty shark, and Marcus performing for Grace a rap rhyme he has written, on the surface just typical teen stuff, but beneath which lies his damaged relationship with his mother, are intensely revealing and extremely moving.

By its nature, film must compress long time stretches into smaller parcels, and the one criticism I would make here is that things seem to resolve themselves a bit too quickly. The kids are in for a 12-month stay, but I didn’t get an effective sense of the passing of time. Still, it’s a small quibble for what is essentially a strong film.

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