Cornerhouse Pick of the Week: Short Term 12

Short Term 12 follows a 20-something supervising staff member, Grace (Brie Larson), of a foster care facility as she navigates the troubled waters of that world alongside her co-worker and longtime boyfriend, Mason (John Gallagher Jr.).

One thing that struck me was the unenviable task the staff had, treading the fine line between being a friend and carer. The instruction given to the new recruit, Nate (Rami Malek), was to just say no to everyone for the first few weeks so they didn’t take advantage of him. Nate is believably naïve, self-centred and finds himself in way over his head.

The final scene is one of the most beautifully-shot, funny yet tangential to the plot. A recurring theme is the children attempting to run from the centre and, by extension, their problems. In this scene, Sammy (Alex Colloway) drapes an American flag over his shoulders and runs in slow motion, chased by the frontline staff.

The plot centres around an at-risk child, Jayden (Kaitlyn Dever), as she is introduced to the centre. Grace sees a kindred spirit in Jayden and, despite stating that she cares for all of the kids in her care equally, Grace seems to go above and beyond to try and save Jayden from her problems.

The other main plot thread is the relationship between Grace and Mason. Despite advocating the value of expressing thoughts and feelings, Grace does not practise what she preaches. It is evident that both have first-hand experience of the care system and Mason is lucky to have had supportive foster parents. Grace is all too aware of the problems Jayden is going through and the coping mechanisms she adopts.

On that note, I feel obligated to warn viewers that the film does touch on sensitive themes, including self-harm, sexual abuse, abortion and suicide. Thankfully these themes were all explored in a mature, tasteful and elegant manner.

Scripts focused on fostering are dependent on child actors faithfully portraying the delicate scenes.  Fortunately, brilliant turns by Colloway, Dever and Keith Stanfield as a kid approaching his eighteenth birthday give their scenes the needed frailty and emotional clout to faithfully depict their characters. The adult cast is by no means lacking though. Larson brings a multi-layered performance that should receive some recognition, even if just to win her next role.

I feel the film loyally portrayed events that could arise in an American care centre. The culturally diverse cast helps to show that anyone can be left without someone to care for them at that age.

The film could have easily been defeatist and dreary with the themes it explores. Luckily it remains positive, heart-warming and even cute.