Review of Short Term 12 (2013) by A T — 12 Feb 2014

Young female Hollywood is often too cliche despite its breakouts. Jennifer Lawrence? Too crazy. Emma Stone? Too mainstream. Greta Gerwig? Too indie. Brie Larson defies the role from the quiet librarian, the Jonah Hill/Michael Cera (so really a Superbad) love interest here in an uneven, but emotionally thrilling piece about the help we need.

The beginning shows she is the boss, but it isn't as picture perfect as it seems. It makes you believe it will fall into a simple "girl helps all" cliche, but turns itself onto another cliche regarding the "girl has issues of her own". It's not necessarily a bad thing, just not solidifying it as a story piece and more about the characters (a la David O Russell). The supporting cast is fine, providing moments of comedic touch, in an otherwise dark tale about abuse and power.

The camera work is a bit hectic, to symbolize the film's overall spastic nature to shift between tone so unevenly (totally it works, just the shakes cam has been done to death and is annoying). It's not 99% good, but it's a satisfying movie to see raw emotions play out even if not every character is fully fleshed out (I'm looking at you Rosa!).