Short Term 12 hit Blu-ray and DVD on January 14th from Cinedigm, Traction Media, and Animal Kingdom
Short Term 12 took South By Southwest 2013 by storm, taking away wins for the Grand Jury Award and the Audience Award for Narrative Features. I worked at the festival and heard the buzz beginning to brew myself for this film that had not previously been on virtually anyone’s radars. My wife (who rarely gets evangelistic about any films) got a chance to see the film during the festival and absolutely fell in love with it, telling anyone she could to check the film out. So when my opportunity came to see the film in theaters, I jumped at it, and subsequently fell in love as well. You can see my passionate theatrical review here. And Cinapse also ran Rhea St. Julien’s thoughtful reflections on the film, in which she dives into the complexity of reasons why people end up working in state-run foster care facilities and the perils of the “White-Savior Industrial Complex” which Short Term 12 mostly manages to avoid.
And so, with multiple reviews already logged here at Cinapse, I’ll keep my review of the Blu-ray relatively short and focus on my reflections after a second viewing of Short Term 12 as well as what I got out of the bonus material found on this release.
My initial review focused on several elements, which I still hold up as the film’s great strengths: complex characters are set loose into an authentic-feeling scenario of modern-day state-run foster care. Then an excellent screenplay from writer/director Destin Cretton allows the stories of the social workers and their wards to play out with expert pacing and fresh performances. All of these elements build up to a film which should be considered among the best films of 2013. Where the film could’ve so easily derailed into Hallmark sentimentality, it instead revels in the complexity of these characters’ lives and situations and offers notes of hope without feeling the need to tidily resolve every last conflict before the end credits roll.
Upon second viewing, the expert ways in which Cretton balanced the tone of the film really stood out to me, specifically through his use of humor. Short Term 12 is a movie that deals rather graphically with physical abuse, self-injury, uncontrolled anger, and even touches on sexual abuse and rape. And for a film that deals with such dark subject matter so authentically, it is fascinating how many laughs there are. John Gallagher, Jr’s character, Mason, is often the source of this humor, but everyone really gets their chance to make us smile. Early in the film we see Brie Larson (in a star-making turn as Grace, the film’s lead protagonist and troubled line worker at the titular facility) threatening a young man with a squirt from a water gun if he won’t get out of bed. This isn’t a laugh-out-loud kind of funny, but there is a knowing warmth communicated in the ensuing squirt gun fight which lets viewers know that Short Term 12 is a place where these kids really have a chance to be loved and offered some modicum of safety. Or, for instance, after Jayden (Kaitlyn Dever) smashes a cupcake into Grace’s face in a bout of explitive-laced fury which requires two men to hold her down, Mason asks Grace how the cupcake tastes. The tension of the rage-filled scene just moments earlier is diffused and in that moment Mason communicates love to Jayden, and an indication to Grace that the moment has passed and things are under control.
I could go on, but my point is simply that Cretton’s screenplay uses humor masterfully to keep a potentially dour film lively. And his written humor is used masterfully by the actors and their characters to communicate a familiarity with one another and to extend a sense of normalcy to the youth who live an otherwise decidedly-non-normal life.
I chose to watch all of the bonus material on the blu-ray before I attempted to watch the film for a second time. Short Term 12 is frankly such an emotional experience that I had to prepare myself and find the right time to view it again. And this is another case where the bonus material on this home video release is genuinely engaging and helps viewers to expand their appreciation for the film and the world it is set in.
Deleted Scenes: Deleted scenes are normally a bland experience. And while I agreed with the excision of each of these scenes we are shown, I’m also glad to see them because there are some fascinating character revelations and a new layer to Brie Larson’s performance which even further secures her performance as one of the best of 2013 regardless of whether the Academy ignored her. There is a scene which gives insight into character Sammy’s past (Alex Calloway) that I do really appreciate as it offers an explanation for his extremely troubled behavior, even if I didn’t need it in the final film. Most powerfully, there is a single-take shot of Larson’s character in a counseling session in which she describes a fantasy/dream to her counselor. The performance is brave, tear-filled, and masterfully captured in one long, lingering take. A superfluous scene, but a perfect inclusion in a deleted Scenes section.
Making The Music Featurette: Another insightful peek into the creation of the film. Composer Joel P. West walks us through the themes of the film and offers another layer of insight into the movie which I never would have picked up on consciously. He suggests that, together with Cretton’s input, they built a score for the film which mostly focused on two note compositions played with simplicity throughout the early parts of the film. And only as the characters begin to connect and progress do the musical themes build and combine and swell. This is a great story telling technique that many viewers (myself included) might never have actively noticed, but which shows the level of care and consideration which went into the crafting of this incredible first feature.
Short Term 12: The Original Short Film: Although it happens often enough that a successful short film leads to a feature-length adaptation, I rarely end up getting a chance to see both. I think the feature film is an improvement on the short in virtually every way, but the solid roots of the short film were interesting to see. I liked that the lead of the short was a male, but that this was changed for the feature. Grace as the lead offers a new, complex, powerful female lead for 2013 audiences to connect with. The only cast member who made the transition from short to feature is Keith Stanfield, who plays Marcus, and I highly support this decision. While Larson’s performance anchors the film and everyone brings their A-game… Stanfield’s Marcus is the one who sent me into fits of “ugly crying” repeatedly and his performance is singular.
There is also a Behind-The-Scenes Featurette, a Cast and Crew Screening reel that features music from The Shivers, and trailers for the film and a screen filled with “Outreach Partners” information regarding foster care facilities and abuse/neglect resource centers.
In the end, Short Term 12 is a fairy tale story of a movie rising from relative obscurity and becoming one of the great films of the year. No, it didn’t get any recognition from The Academy Awards. This is a bit of a robbery, but we all know the Academy is a political and this film was probably just too small to navigate the politics and gain the awards recognition it deserves. Like what often happens, I have to imagine that Short Term 12 is going to live on in the public consciousness far longer than many of the brief “award season fodder” films that will disappear into the ether soon after they claim their statues. (Although 2013 is a strong year even for bigger films). I know I’ll be recommending this film to people for years to come and I expect great things from the talent both in front of and behind the camera which will always point back to Short Term 12 as the starting point for something wonderful.
And I’m Out.