Review of Short Term 12 (2013) by Brett B — 22 Feb 2015

A genuine, emotionally-draining drama. Writer/director Cretton has crafted an affecting story, one that is clearly informed by experiences he has to have had earlier in his life; there's a verisimilitude and a rawness that could only be reproduced from first-hand, intimate knowledge of this world.

In fact, the movie feels almost documentarian at points, which came close to keeping me at a bit of an emotional distance - because my life experience is so far removed from the circumstances depicted - but in the end, it was the work of lead actress Brie Larson that made everything work for me.

She gives a superb performance, a nuanced and moving portrait of a quite complex, enormously empathetic young woman. The actual narrative itself follows the kinds of contours that we might expect (save for a brief sequence in the third act that is surprisingly suspenseful, and had me wondering if the movie was about to get REALLY dark), but it doesn't really embrace cliche, either.

That being said, it's Cretton's clear point-of-view/authorial voice and Larson's work that really elevates the plot.