Short Term 12 Review
By David Kempler
Don't Sell it Short
If you're a lady who likes your man sensitive and willing to put up with anything you can throw at him, then you will love Mason (John Gallagher Jr.) in Destin Daniel Cretton's "Short Term 12". It's not that he isn't a good-looking guy, but that's secondary to the appeal he will throw out at the females in the audience. You can be uncommunicative and even smack him for no good reason and he will react by smiling and cooking you a meal.
Mason and Grace (Brie Larson) are co-workers in a group home for "at-risk" adolescents. They are also lovers that share a place to live. Both are bright and care deeply for the kids they are tasked with preparing for the real world. The children in the home are presented as troubled but worth saving. They are good kids that are lost and they have no real meaningful connections to the world. Some are abandoned, while others have gotten themselves into the predicament they find themselves in. Both Mason and Grace are near-perfect at handling them despite their being not very much older than them. Perhaps that helps them to better understand them.
One-by-one we get enough of a glimpse of the kids so that we can build some feelings for the troubled teens. While Mason genuinely feels for them, Grace is on empathy overload. Clearly this is not just a job for her. Something inside her makes her appear to be a slightly older version of them.
Mason recognizes that Grace is similarly damaged but he never presses her on it. They have been together for three years but he knows nothing of her problems. He hangs in, though, even when their interactions would force a lesser man to run away from her as quickly as possible. There are a few moments where I almost hoped he would come to his senses and scoot, but only a couple. The rest of the time I'm with him. For some reason Grace is worth it.
When Jayden (Kaitlyn Dever), a particularly troubled young lady joins the group, it sets in motion a series of events that answers all of the questions that Mason and the audience have about Grace. Jayden is the necessary missing ingredient that transforms "Short Term 12" into a whole. Until her arrival, everything is working, but far from special. Dever's performance along with the writing of her character elevates it into quite a good watch.
"Short Term 12" is far from an extraordinary story. On paper, it's very far, actually, but Dever, Larson and Gallagher all feel genuine. Cretton puts it all together in a manner that will make you feel emotions for all of them, but it's Dever that carries the day. She is only 17, but my guess is that in the not too distant future, she might be quite a recognizable name.
