SHORT TERM 12. Subtle and Mature

What do you need to know when starting work in a youth residential center? There are a few key rules. Show that you won’t let anyone walk all over you. Don’t start by making friends—relationships will develop over time. Absolutely never suggest to the kids that there is something wrong with them. Be prepared for many difficult moments. Every single day. Under no circumstances should you show weakness. Provide support. The staff at Short Term 12 are either already aware of these principles or are just beginning to learn them, but regardless of experience, they know it’s not always easy to uphold all of them.

The kids try to run away. They argue with each other. They sit locked in their rooms, grappling with a reality they find hard to deal with. They suppress their emotions, though they also try to express them, often in aggressive ways. Grace Howard knows these kids. She knows how to address them, talk to them, and manage undesirable behaviors. She approaches each one individually. She’s trying to reach Marcus, who’s about to turn 18 and leave the center, and who hides a deep-seated pain that he only expresses indirectly through the songs he writes. She’s worried about Sammy, whose only source of happiness—his dolls—have been taken away on the advice of the therapists. She’s trying to ease the conflict between Marcus and Luis, a boy who bullies him. Grace is good at her job. She finds joy in it.

Things are harder outside of work, when she returns home to the place she shares with her partner and colleague, Mason. In her relationship with him, she’s a bit like the kids at the center—distrustful and closed off. There’s a reason for this, though Grace doesn’t talk about it. One day, she learns that she’s pregnant with Mason’s child. She doesn’t take the news with a smile. Additionally, this news coincides with the arrival of a new girl at the center, Jayden. Jayden has more in common with Grace than anyone else at the facility. Enough that Grace becomes deeply emotional about her. More and more details from her past start to surface. Grace’s relationship with Jayden becomes a key element of the film. There’s no complex plot here—it’s a slice of life of the staff and residents at Short Term 12. The script only delves deeply into the characters mentioned above.

The film’s writer and director once worked at a similar facility, and it’s hard to say to what extent he based the characters on his own experiences, but it’s safe to assume that, at least in part, he transferred reality onto the screen, basing the characters on people he personally knew. Showing two perspectives was a smart move—demonstrating that the caregivers are also people with their own hidden problems, still learning (like Nate, a new employee at the center), and still making mistakes.

No one here is perfect. The clash between Grace and Jayden allows the film to explore the psychology of both characters and show their reactions to similar traumatic experiences from two different perspectives—one who is currently being hurt and one who has already been hurt. Neither perspective is easier, especially since both create a cycle—living in the present brings up past traumas, and the past, in turn, pushes one to try and fix the present, something Jayden doesn’t have the strength to face.

When the focus isn’t on individual characters, we observe life at the center—games, meetings, and kids left alone in their rooms. The camera subtly follows these troubled kids and gently shows that, underneath it all, they aren’t bad people. They’re people who have been hurt, filled with negative emotions, but they’re also intelligent, talented, helpful, and sensitive. In fact, their sensitivity is a catalyst for their behavior. It’s precisely because of their emotional approach to life that they experience everything so intensely.

And aggression? The film suggests that these kids often don’t know any other behavior. This is what they saw at home, and it’s what they carry inside. This is not a manifesto or an attempt to justify their actions, but it often implies that it’s worth looking deeper into these kids. Don’t judge them from the outset; spend some time with them. Talk to them not as objects needing therapy, but as people who, though they won’t say it, need support and help because they simply can’t cope on their own.

So, we watch Grace’s relationship with Jayden, her interactions with the rest of the kids, and her relationship with Mason, overshadowed by the trauma she’s endured. Grace’s character skillfully allows the film to showcase these multiple perspectives. Is it easy to be in a relationship when one person is afraid to trust, open up, or be touched in intimate ways? The question is rhetorical, since trust is the foundation of any relationship. Mason, however, is aware of his partner’s difficult past, and it seems that his work and his relationship with the kids help him more easily accept who Grace is in private, and above all, it’s his love for her that helps him. He frequently emphasizes how much he loves her, which contrasts with the lack of love experienced by the kids at the facility and highlights how essential love is to healthy functioning.

The script is supported by excellent acting. This was Brie Larson’s first lead role, and just three years later, she won an Oscar for her performance in “Room”. This isn’t the place to discuss the latter film, but both performances are outstanding—the actress masterfully uses gestures, facial expressions, and her gaze. Grace is a character torn by many emotions, both from her past and her present. You can see these emotions. They affect the viewer and blend perfectly with the performance of Kaitlyn Dever, who was 17 at the time. The shared moments between Grace and Jayden are also a testament to strong writing and the building of a relationship between characters, not so much through dialogue, but through the very act of being together and spending time with each other. Their bond goes beyond the caretaker-ward dynamic. It’s a mature connection between two wounded people, and two mature performances.

Considering all of this, it’s hard not to appreciate this film. For its subtlety and lack of heavy-handedness. Its intelligent and multidimensional approach to difficult issues. The emotions experienced by the characters, which impact the viewer. And for the hint of hope that things can get better if there’s someone by our side to help us get through the bad. “Short Term 12” simply works.