The coming out party for Brie Larson is complete. After delightful turns in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, 21 Jump Street, and The Spectacular Now, Larson gets a starring vehicle in Short Term 12. As good as Larson is here, Short Term 12 is even better since it gives insight into the day-to-day lives of temporary living arrangements from the perspectives of the workers and the kids. Expertly written and shot by Destin Cretton, Short Term 12 gives some well deserved attention to people who don’t receive enough of it.
Grace (Brie Larson) and Mason (John Gallagher Jr.) are a couple who feel compelled to work at a Short Term 12 facility taking care of kids with nowhere else to go. They are both very good at establishing connections with these children, but for different reasons. Mason feels the need to give back due to his foster upbringing, but Grace’s aid comes from a darker place. She has a more fragile emotional state than she lets on and big life events come to her in the form of a pregnancy and Jayden (Kaitlyn Dever), a child with a similar past to Grace’s.
The camerawork in Short Term 12 draws the viewer into a very intimate and delicate situation. These people in the shelter are so hurt that any further pain can push them over the edge. Watching Short Term 12 is like standing on the edge of a knife; even when things go well, a wrong turn of a phrase or confiscation of dolls can be enough to cause a character to spiral downward into a pit of despair. Dragging a broken person from that type of personal hell requires great patience, understanding, and lots of luck outside of your control. Short Term 12 succeeds at showing the entire process to the audience. The little “wins” where the kids open up are so emotionally rewarding and satisfying leaving the audience with a massive high, only to be dragged back down by what can appear to a normal person a small inconvenience. Most importantly, these scenes (until the final act) don’t feel manipulative. The kids are smart people who just don’t understand what a normal life is like, and the caretakers are smart enough to break the sullen shell of a malcontent and find a moment of raw connection.
Equally as compelling as the Short Term facility is Grace’s personal story. Slowly revealed over the course of the film, Grace herself is walking on pins and needles. Work gives her focus and purpose, and outside forces are banging on her door leaving her at a loss for what to do. Her emotional scars have turned into scabs that cover herself from those closest to her. By not coming to terms with her past, Grace has trouble moving on to her future with Mason, who only asks to let him inside her head. These scenes provide much-needed humor, but also add layers to Grace’s character that make the payoffs all the more satisfying.
This film takes a calculated risk on Brie Larson’s ability to carry a film mostly on her own, with great success. Larson is wonderful here: a strong woman put through the ringer and coming out the other side, but not without some consequences. She can be simultaneously caring and cold, smart and illogical, etc. She also has some help around her. John Gallagher Jr. is very good as Mason, playing a very likable caregiver and love interest who tries to coax Grace out of her cocoon. Kaitlyn Dever is wonderful as Jayden, a younger version of Grace. Dever nails her characters mask of hurt with sarcasm, but when she snaps, she snaps. Keith Stanfield and Rami Malek get nice arcs as a troubled kid and naïve new counselor respectively.
Short Term 12 exposes the world to the underbelly of society people like to forget exists. In the struggle to force people to conform to societal standards regardless of who you are and where you came from, Short Term 12 focuses on the people who fall through the cracks and the people who notice and take action. Kudos to the filmmakers for taking this story, the people involved, and their plight seriously. I will also never take a fish for granted again.