Short Term 12 (2013)

Drama

Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
Writer: Destin Daniel Cretton
Starring: Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr., Stephanie Beatriz, Rami Malek

"A film about kids and the grown-ups who hit them."

A heartwarming and authentic portrayal of life at a foster home that takes you on an emotional roller coaster ride.

Brie Larson (The Spectacular Now, United States of Tara) plays Grace, a twenty-something supervisor at a group home for troubled teens who lives with her long-term boyfriend and co-worker, Mason (John Gallagher, jr.) We see her dealing with the issues of youths at work, such as Marcus, a kid about to turn 18 and struggling with the prospect of leaving the facility, or Jayden, a new girl whose problems bring out demons from her past and create complications that push her relationship with Mason to the brink.

Shot on a very small budget and with a one of the best performances of the year from Larson, according to many critics, Short Term 12 takes its viewer to deeply rewarding, intimate and richly emotional heights.

Plot summary from IMDb: At a foster-care facility for at-risk teenagers, Grace is a young counselor trying to do her best for kids who often have been pulled from the worst kinds of home situations. Even then, life is not easy as Grace and her colleagues care for kids who are too often profoundly scarred, even as they try to have lives of their own. Now, things are coming to a head as Grace readies for marriage even as some her charges are coming to major turning points in their lives. To cope, Grace will have to make difficult perceptions and decisions that could put her career, and more importantly her charges, at dire risk.

Awards: 38 wins & 59 nominations.
Runtime: 96 min
R