Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Latest
    • Thank You
    • 4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)
    • 3999. The Pianist (2002)
    • 3998. Philadelphia (1993)
    • 3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
    • 3996. The Green Mile (1999)
    • 3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
    • 3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Home
    • Blog
      • All Posts
      • Best Of The Year
        • Best Of 2015
        • Best Of 2016
        • Best Of 2017
        • Best Of 2018
        • Best Of 2019
        • Best Of 2020
        • Best Of 2021
        • Best Of 2022
      • The Decade In Review
      • Box Office Analysis
      • James Bond
      • Oscars
      • RANKED
      • Star Wars
      • The Big Questions
      • Top 10
      • World Cinema
    • Ratings
      • Top 250
      • Top 100 Foreign Films
      • Bottom 50
      • 0 – 1.9
      • 2 – 3.9
      • 4 – 5.9
      • 6 – 7.9
      • 8 – 10
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Anthology
      • Animation
      • Christmas
      • Comedy
      • Crime
      • Documentary
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Film-Noir
      • History
      • Horror
      • Kids’
      • Musical
      • Psychological
      • Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Short
      • Silent
      • Sport
      • Superhero
      • Survival
      • Thriller
      • Western
    • Release Year
      • 2020s
      • 2010s
      • 2000s
      • 1990s
      • 1980s
      • 1970s
      • 1960s
      • 1950s
      • 1940s
      • 1930s
      • 1920s
    • Country
      • Afghanistan
      • Argentina
      • Australia
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Brazil
      • Cambodia
      • Canada
      • Chile
      • China
      • Colombia
      • Costa Rica
      • Czechoslovakia
      • Czech Republic
      • Denmark
      • East Timor
      • Faroe Islands
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Georgia
      • Greece
      • Hong Kong
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Ireland
      • Israel
      • Italy
      • Japan
      • Latvia
      • Lebanon
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Mexico
      • New Zealand
      • Nigeria
      • North Korea
      • Norway
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Philippines
      • Poland
      • Romania
      • Russia
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • South Africa
      • Soviet Union
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • Syria
      • Taiwan
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Uganda
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • Uruguay
      • Vietnam
      • Zambia
    • About
    The Mad Movie Man
    You are at:Home»Review»1363. Short Term 12 (2013)

    1363. Short Term 12 (2013)

    0
    By The Mad Movie Man on May 26, 2016 2013, 8 - 10, 90-99 mins, Drama, May 16, Movies Of 2016, Review, United States
    9.4 Beautiful
    • Acting 9.6
    • Directing 9.3
    • Story 9.4
    • User Ratings (0 Votes) 0

    Starring: Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr., Kaitlyn Dever

    Director: Destin Daniel Cretton

    Running Time: 96 mins


    Short Term 12 is an American film about a woman working in a home for troubled teenagers who, while guiding the kids she looks after towards a better life, is avoiding her own suffering deep down.

    What do I say about this absolute masterpiece? Short Term 12 is easily one of the best films I’ve ever seen; it’s a powerfully emotional, hard-hitting and realistic drama about troubled lives, but it’s also an astonishingly beautiful, inspiring and heartfelt personal story about dealing with those problems, and it’s something that had me completely enthralled from beginning to end.

    There’s so much that I loved about this film, but if there’s one real stand-out, then it’s Brie Larson’s performance. It’s amazing enough to give such a great performance in your first lead role, but to then go further and put in a show that trumps what most of the established Hollywood elite can do was unbelievably impressive.

    Brie Larson’s acting is absolutely perfect in Short Term 12. Better than her stunning turn in Room, she brilliantly shines when it comes to delivering the incredible emotion that this film provides, always appearing one hundred percent sincere in everything she does on screen. The emotional core of the film does undoubtedly lie in the brilliantly-written characters, but without Larson’s astonishing performance, along with her co-stars, this would never have been such an enthralling watch.

    Next to that performance, Destin Daniel Cretton’s writing is phenomenal. The most striking part of the film is the unbelievably realistic emotional power that the story delivers, bringing you fully into this broken world where many people suffer in their personal lives. What Cretton does so perfectly here is avoid great melodrama, and instead delivers the highest emotion in the quietest, most personal scenes of the movie.

    The dialogue is exquisitely written, so the film is always absolutely fascinating to follow, but the fact that Cretton leaves so much of the most important parts of the story unsaid, and instead leaves it to the actors and his own direction to show you, means that the emotion always feels so much more powerful, sincere and personal than any screenplay could ever show.

    However, although the emotional aspect of Short Term 12 is of course its most impressive feature, the reason that this film stands above the majority of these personal dramas is because it has a massive heart. Yes, this film is very often devastating to watch, and it even had me in tears at moments, but there’s also so much to smile at along the way.

    Whilst taking a serious look at the characters’ problems, this film really shines in the way it portrays its characters’ bonds. Although things may seem bad a lot of the time, this film never forgets to show how strong everybody’s relationships are, and with a dash of very well-suited comedy from time to time, I was truly touched by how this film showed the good in people as well as the bad.

    Overall, I was blown away by this film. It’s not just an impressive and down-to-earth drama, it’s a masterpiece of acting, writing and directing, all of which come together to make for a truly and uniquely moving, engrossing and human story, and that’s why I’m giving Short Term 12 a 9.4.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    The Mad Movie Man, AKA Anthony Cullen, writes articles and reviews about movies and the world of cinema. From January 1st, 2013 to December 31st, 2022, he watched and reviewed a movie every day. This is the blog dedicated to the project: www.madmovieman.com

    Related Posts

    8.2

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    Follow Me Online!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Tumblr
    New Releases
    8.2
    December 25, 2022

    3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

    5.6
    December 10, 2022

    3969. Falling For Christmas (2022)

    6.9
    December 4, 2022

    3956. The People We Hate At The Wedding (2022)

    5.4
    December 3, 2022

    3954. Disenchanted (2022)

    7.4
    December 3, 2022

    3953. Meet Cute (2022)

    7.6
    November 23, 2022

    3934. Do Revenge (2022)

    7.0
    November 18, 2022

    3929. The Wonder (2022)

    6.7
    November 13, 2022

    3924. See How They Run (2022)

    Recommended Movies
    9.4
    Review
    April 12, 20130

    119. 127 Hours (2010)

    8.4
    Review
    May 6, 20130

    144. Zombieland (2009)

    8.0
    Review
    December 17, 20210

    3586. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

    8.0
    Review
    August 15, 20200

    3055. My Cousin Vinny (1992)

    8.1
    Review
    May 16, 20220

    3740. Gifted (2017)

    Popular Posts
    December 31, 2022

    Thank You

    8.2
    December 31, 2022

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8
    December 30, 2022

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2
    December 29, 2022

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    7.5
    December 28, 2022

    3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

    9.1
    December 27, 2022

    3996. The Green Mile (1999)

    7.6
    December 26, 2022

    3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)

    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.