Short Term 12
Short Term 12 Image
Metascore
85

Universal acclaim - based on 31 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.8

Universal acclaim- based on 22 Ratings

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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 31
  3. Negative: 0 out of 31
  1. indieWIRE
    Reviewed by: Eric Kohn
    Jun 7, 2013
    100
    Taking its time to let the world take shape, Short Term 12 builds to an involving series of mini-climaxes without tidying up every loose end.
  2. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    Aug 22, 2013
    100
    Short Term 12 is a small wonder, a film of exceptional naturalness and empathy that takes material about troubled teenagers and young adults that could have been generic and turns it into something moving and intimate.
  3. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Richard Roeper
    Sep 12, 2013
    100
    It’s one of the best movies of the year and one of the truest portrayals I’ve ever seen about troubled teens and the people who dedicate their lives to trying to help them.
  4. RogerEbert.com
    Reviewed by: Christy Lemire
    Aug 23, 2013
    88
    Cretton shows as much care and kindness with the minutiae of the daily routine — as he does with the larger issues that plague these lives in flux. He also infuses his story with unexpected humor as the kids hassle each other — and their supervisors — on the road to healing.
  5. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Joe Neumaier
    Aug 23, 2013
    80
    Short Term 12 wraps up with one of the most touchingly memorable last moments of any film this year. Despite a title that’s hard to recall, this brief but resonant movie sticks with you.
  6. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marjorie Baumgarten
    Sep 18, 2013
    78
    Brie Larson is a revelation as the linchpin of Short Term 12. An industrious young actress, her performance here is remarkably natural and understated.
  7. The Dissolve
    Reviewed by: Noel Murray
    Aug 22, 2013
    60
    This is a small film about a society of castoffs, and while it’s beautifully acted and often moving, it’s also predictable, because it keeps wresting itself into familiar forms.

See all 31 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. Friskytiger81
    Oct 7, 2013
    10
    Easily one of the best films of the year that delivers in every facet. Strongest is the incredible script by Destin Cretton and the wonderful characters, most especially the supporting characters that give credibility to a story about foster care facilities. Yes, Brie Larson is stellar and John Gallagher, Jr. is incredible with a kind of chemistry rarely on screen, but the small performances of the supporting cast are what really gave this film heart. It is heartbreakingly empathetic in ways only films can be. I cannot wait to see what director Destin Daniel Cretton.… Expand
  2. pgutierriz
    Oct 5, 2013
    10
    Short Term 12 is really well written movie with believable actors and characters. The lead role actors, Brie Larson and John Gallagher are exceptionally good and hold the movie. I can only imagine how tough it is to work in a facility with at-risk teenagers. My heart goes out to the abused, if feel their pain. Props go to Kevin Hernandez who lends some hot salsa flavor to the film. Overall a feel good movie. When I left the theater, the sun was particularly bright, I was in a somber mood and quiet was the day, that I broke into the tears. A MUST SEE FILM!!!… Expand
  3. MarcDoyle
    Aug 25, 2013
    9
    Extremely well-written film. This story has been told 100 times, but not nearly as elegantly as this time. And the two leads are simply outstanding. It would be a shame if Brie Larson isn't mentioned for her performance come award season.… Expand
  4. PieceofMine
    Sep 4, 2013
    9
    Writer-director Destin Cretton's Short Term 12 is a marvel, an intimate look into the life of a young woman named Grace, a mature, resourceful, and damaged caretaker at a juvenile housing facility. From first shot to last, the film is stunning; it is emotionally vast, beautifully and intimately shot, and an incredibly acted success.

    Short Term 12's subject matter lends itself to immediacy, and so the film presents its characters in stride, building up Grace, her paramour co-worker, ally, and confidant Mason, and the teenagers in their care with small, detailed brushstrokes for example, we learn who Mason is primarily through his natural storytelling ability as he introduces the facility to a new staff member; with anger-brimming older boy Marcus, it's a profound but not unbelievably polished rap session. These moments are expository without ever feeling forced or out of place; Cretton's mantra seems to favor an almost voyeuristic naturalism above all else. There are a few scant moments where the writing takes a turn for the more forced, especially when the script plays for laughs and the jokes stand out from the rest of the dialogue because they are so obviously structured for punchlines. These are easily forgiven, however, as the film quickly slips into its deeply sympathetic stages, teasing out the wracking pain and broken pasts buried within these kids, who quickly demonstrate that they're far more than the band of colorful misfits they initially present as. The aforementioned Marcus as the facility's veteran resident and a newcomer, Jayden, whose attitude and scarred over past most closely resemble Grace, play the primary fulcrums for Mason and Grace to pivot around. Instead of one great urgency that drives the narrative forward, there is a looser, short-story style that weaves its way through the film, thus adhering to its dropped-in, naturalistic feel. The conflicts these kids (and other adults!) introduce and the sympathies they engender are utilized as ways to explore, primarily, Grace's own frustrations, weaknesses, aspirations, and pain. Grace is the all-encompassing center stage here, and at its core, the film is very introspective, an elegant psychological portrait that strikes a near-perfect balance between what it shows and what it leaves for the viewer to surmise.

    So, of course, we must talk about Brie Larson's superlative, sumptuous performance as Grace. This is as close of an embodiment of the now mythical strong female character as you're likely to see all year. She's immediately admirable and likable it's clear that she cares for these children and operates with a generous compassion and patience, but her balancing flaws are what make her truly stand out. Instead of a few individual negative traits (like the general impishness that infects every manic pixie dream girl derivative, or, say, emotional volatility because, you know, women are crazy), her demons form an almost terrifying certainly tragically cohesive whole. She's constantly receding from some past open wound, and it makes her at times prideful, stubborn, defiant, pitiful, and difficult. Her past and her person come together to form a character that understands how to fight through pain, and demonstrates courage through her resilience and fire, but is never quite sanctified and all the more laudably grounded for it. Though in broad strokes it is a rich and comprehensive and powerful portrayal, there are a few pinprick moments where the direction does seem to recede into comfortable cliche do we ever need another shot of a character looking vacant and troubled in the shower? Still, a few of these are easily forgiven, and the larger picture painted is still breathtaking. This centerpiece that is Grace owes equal dues to Cretton's heartfelt script and Larson's performance, the latter of which runs the gamut between optimistically aloof, passionate, distant, angry, and, when earned, triumphant, and she leaves nothing on the table.

    Larson would stick out like a sore thumb, however, if her supporting cast didn't all rise to the challenge to extend the tapestry of her character into a fully realized world populated with all sorts of interesting. As Mason, John Gallager Jr. gives a far less showy but quietly stellar performance as Grace's partner in all things; if I had to nitpick, there are moments where he suffers from Gary Stu syndrome, but he has enough to do to quickly rise up as a formidably substantial character on his own. When Grace runs into adversaries, instead of being heartless bureaucratic hardasses like the DMV caricatures administrative types are usually presented as, they offer counter-arguments that are both logical and passionate, and Grace is far from always right. But we continue to root for her in tremendous ways, because she seems so knowable, because she's heartwrenchingly thorough, because this story, in spite of its sometimes angsty trappings, comes across as so personal and real.    … Expand
  5. netflic
    Sep 9, 2013
    9
    This is Destin Cretton's second movie as a Director and a Writer. And I would say, a very impressive one.
    The movie is about life in a facili    ty for teenagers from abusive families. It focuses on kids
    who live there and stuff who work there.
    I found the movie incredibly honest and delicate. Very strong acting performance. Brie Larson
    who plays Grace, in my opinion, deserves to be nominated for Oscar. Overall, it is an excellent movie.    … Expand
  6. BHBarry
    Sep 16, 2013
    8
    "Short Term 12" stars Brie Larson and John Gallagher, Jr. (“NewsroomJ in this beautiful and sensitive film written and directed by Destin Cretetton. It has been my viewing experience that, in most instances, when the writer is also the director of the film, the movie tends to be too long and improperly edited since the creator can’t seem to delete and take out the unnecessary footage for fear of hurting his or her work. Objectivity usually is replaced by sentiment and loyalty to the original product, regardless of its effect on the audience. Mr. Cretton proved that the opposite can be true for this film is wonderfully edited and plays out smooth as silk as it tells the tale of staffers in a foster care facility and the problems they experience with their teen age wards. It should be noted that Mr. Cretton worked in such a facility so there is legitimacy and honesty in his writing about it. There are subplots and small divergences which make for an interesting cinema experience. Ms. Larson is a talented actress with natural beauty and ability and the script affords her the opportunity to utilize her thespian skills so that you are ab;e tp identify with her and the difficulties in her life. In spite of all of the travails facing these workers and wards,, the movie is uplifting and gives us all hope and the ability to believe that no one is beyond help and redemption. I enthusiastically recommend it and give the film an 8 rating.. Watch for some of the cast to be mentioned when Oscar time rolls around because there are performances in this film you will remember for a long time to come.… Expand
  7. canhenha
    Sep 30, 2013
    8
    "Short Term 12" is a film that could have fallen easily into the "movie of the week" context, with the dramas of child abuse, however director Destin Cretton, wisely chooses to follow Grace, a young woman who has survived difficult ordeals, and who wants to provide help and guidance for the children. The film allows for these characters to fully live and have dimension, and much of it's core and heart, comes from the interaction of the actors. The director is also very successful in capturing the frailty of children's lives and expectations, as is in the way it captures the hardship of a young relationship and the steps to becoming a responsible adult. The threads that the film successfully builds are as delicate as they are strong in it's emotional impact. Brie Larson has a fantastic performance as the experienced, yet frail Grace, as does Kaitlyn Dever as the young Jayden. The film also benefits from the beautiful cinematography from Brett Pawlak. A great film not to be missed.… Expand

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