Saturday, January 30, 2016

Short Term 12

Short Term 12



     Short Term 12 has been on my to-watch list for so long and and I am so glad I finally watched it today.  It is such a tremendous movie with memorable characters, fantastic writing and acting.  It genuinely broke my heart several times.  At the end of the movie, I wasn't ready to let go of these characters at all and would have gladly watched hours more of the kids and employees at the half-way home.
     Short Term 12 centers around Grace (Brie Larson), a supervisor at the half-way home, who has a chaotic week at work while her personal life falls apart.  Along with Grace at the half-way home, there is Grace's boyfriend Mason (John Gallagher Jr), and the new hire Nate (Rami Malek).  The kids include quiet musician Marcus (Keith Stanfield), who is aging out of the home, and sarcastic newcomer Jayden (Kaitlyn Dever).
      What really struck me about the movie and what truly made the stories so sad is the pain that all of these kids had endured and how it continued to affect all of them, even though for many of them, the source of the pain was long gone.  There's Marcus, who is still haunted by his mother and expresses his pain through self-penned rap songs.  Grace is still haunted by her childhood too and she channels her energy through helping the kids at the home, finding a special connection to Jayden.