Subtlety is a hard art to master, yet it abounds in the miraculously tender and poignant Short Term 12. Director Destin Cretton builds off of rising star Brie Larson and her seemingly limitless range. She is flawless here, giving just the right amount of heart and brokenness to have us fall for her character. Grace (Larson) works at a short-term foster care center where they house troubled youths until they are 18. Often in and out of foster homes, these kids have personality and spunk, which can lead to issues in the real world. Many are also damaged mentally. Yet, there’s hope and the caretakers that Grace is a part of are a key piece of that puzzle.
Grace is the group leader for her team at the care center alongside her boyfriend, Mason (John Gallagher, Jr.), and she shows compassion that is the hallmark of what one would hope someone that works there would have. She’s strict and has rules, but she is contextually lenient when it is needed to ease people into unfamiliar surroundings. She cares, even if she doesn’t have the training to truly diagnose the kids under her care. She connects with them because she was once part of the system. She has her own demons, and her life is made more complex because of her relationship.
As much as the film revolves around Grace, it’s also about the system — how these kids are corralled and focused. Grace and the others encourage their passions. Marcus (Keith Stanfield), one of the kids, has a troubled past full of abuse and a mother that left him to fend for himself, and despite the fact that he is not allowed to curse he vents through writing raps. Mason helps provide the drumbeat as they sit down in a quiet moment where we can hear, but not see, Marcus breaking as he spews his rhymed anger-fueled rap about his life to that point. With just a short couple of minutes, we are left reeling. But all of it — every tear shed, every laugh exerted, and every emotion of relief and anger — are earned.
When a new girl, Jayden (Kaitlyn Dever), arrives, she brings something out in Grace. Grace sees much of herself in her, and she opens up to Jayden. She protects her amidst the myriad hoops and loopholes the system has in place, but she grows with her as well. Together, they help each other because they are in a position to. Dealing with extreme issues could be a trapdoor for a film to simply beat you down. Yet Cretton cleverly places hope around the corner. There’s also a remarkable amount of character development, even in some of the kids and other caretakers, that helps make this world a living snapshot. Short Term 12 is filmmaking of the highest quality — the kind that earns every emotion and gives you something in return.