Review of 12 and Holding (2006) by Martena M — 01 Apr 2008

SPOILERS.

It starts out pretty strong--it's kind of like an inverted "Mean Creek", and the child actors are just about as talented--but then it kind of plunges into absurdity. It feels as though the director is trying to explain away these kids' behaviour because of their situations--the girl breaks into a guy's house and tries to seduce him because she misses her dad. A boy imprisons his mom in the basement because he's worried about how fat she is. And another boy can shoot a bully and bury the body because the bully inadvertantly killed his brother. Even if the movie isn't trying to justify their actions, it still just feels freakish, and the adults' behaviour and actions is equally absurd. Still, there are a lot of good performances in the film, so it might be worth watching for that alone.