Short Term 12 tells the sweet, simple tale of Grace, a carer in a Los Angeles home for troubled teens. Working alongside her crumply boyfriend Mason, she’s the picture of calm professionalism, gentle, kind, patient and winningly empathetic with her charges. But it’s a fragile front; underneath she’s still an emotionally and physically traumatised and terrified little girl, something that becomes painfully apparent when an abused 15 year old called Jayden arrives at the home….
Short Term 12 is one of those films where the images and the emotions stick with you long after the credits have rolled. The portraits of Grace, Mason, their co-workers and their kids are intimate, real, heartfelt and heart-rendering, and Brie Larson as Grace is simply luminous – I haven’t been this impressed with a young actress is quite some time. And it’s absolutely beautifully shot too, the colours and the light are magnificent. So: it’s wonderfully affirming cinema experience, I really loved it, and I’m kicking myself it took me such a long to see it. Don’t make the same mistake.