Short Term 12

*Thanks to Grace Snyder for this guest review. The film screened at the Cleveland Cinematheque this past weekend, and Grace was there to see it.

Grace is a student at Kent State student who does her own blog 'Let's Get Critical' which she describes as, "reviews of films from an untrained college student with hopes of becoming a film critic."

Review by Grace Snyder

Directed and written by Destin Cretton, SHORT TERM 12 is a feature film expanding on the 2008 short of the same name. The film, based on Cretton's real-life experiences working at a foster home, follows Grace (Brie Larson), the supervisor of a foster home full of underprivileged, abandoned, and abused children. SHORT TERM 12 opens with Grace and boyfriend Mason (John Gallagher Jr.) teaching a new staff member the ropes of the group home. The most important of these being that as staff members they are not parents or therapists; their job is simply to keep them safe. Grace seems to contradict this almost immediately, as it is evident that she has a true passion for helping these kids. However, Grace's passion does not seem to follow through in her own life. She remains emotionally and physically distant from the desperate-to-understand Mason. Despite his efforts, Mason is not able to break into Grace's mind which seems to be deeply troubled for reasons unknown to anyone but herself.