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Cast: Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr.
I have been dying to see this movie since all the critical hype started a few months ago. I love an engaging and effecting drama, Short Term 12 had all the makings of one. The film had it's moments and is not a bad watch. At the end of the day I was not willing to take some of the journeys that the protagonist takes. The central relationship is solid. The two characters feel right together, they are well acted, and the conflict in their relationship is the most engaging aspect of the film. When they are together I truly cared what was happening and was invested in where the story was going.
The second most important relationship in the film is where most of my issues lie. The main character befriends a new young girl that has come to the group home. She fears she is being abused and sees so much of herself in the girl that she begins to regress into her former self. Some of the actions that result from this regression were just a bridge too far for me. Her behavior simply does not seem organic to the character's arc in light of the strong, no nonsense, women that is set up at the start of the film. A lot of what transpires with these two characters seems to just be there to fabricate stakes. The relationship is not useless, it would have just been better served if it would have been more subtle in my opinion. There are quite a few characters who are given lesser time who I would have liked to get to know better. Some of the more emotional scenes would have had more impact if we would have gotten to know them better.
Short Term 12 is not a bad film. It is a film that does not live up to its potential. It has interesting characters and capable actors. For me that was enough to make it average, but not to elevate it.
Director: Destin Cretton
Cast: Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr.
I have been dying to see this movie since all the critical hype started a few months ago. I love an engaging and effecting drama, Short Term 12 had all the makings of one. The film had it's moments and is not a bad watch. At the end of the day I was not willing to take some of the journeys that the protagonist takes. The central relationship is solid. The two characters feel right together, they are well acted, and the conflict in their relationship is the most engaging aspect of the film. When they are together I truly cared what was happening and was invested in where the story was going.
The second most important relationship in the film is where most of my issues lie. The main character befriends a new young girl that has come to the group home. She fears she is being abused and sees so much of herself in the girl that she begins to regress into her former self. Some of the actions that result from this regression were just a bridge too far for me. Her behavior simply does not seem organic to the character's arc in light of the strong, no nonsense, women that is set up at the start of the film. A lot of what transpires with these two characters seems to just be there to fabricate stakes. The relationship is not useless, it would have just been better served if it would have been more subtle in my opinion. There are quite a few characters who are given lesser time who I would have liked to get to know better. Some of the more emotional scenes would have had more impact if we would have gotten to know them better.
Short Term 12 is not a bad film. It is a film that does not live up to its potential. It has interesting characters and capable actors. For me that was enough to make it average, but not to elevate it.