Short Term 12 review: One of the Best Films of the Year

"Short Term 12" is proving to be one of 2013's biggest cinematic revelations and features star-turning performances by Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr. and Kaitlyn Dever. The movie was the winner of the SXSW Film Festival and is certain to garner a following when it is released.

Directed by Destin Cretton, the film explores abuse and the search for identity in a foster home. Grace (Larson), a 20-something year old supervising staff member of a foster care facility, takes care of foster children with her co-worker and longtime boyfriend, Mason (Gallagher). At the beginning of the film Grace is a positive, well-tempered young woman who seems to be in control of the foster children and herself. She guides a new worker Nate (Rami Malek) through his first day at work and even tells her boss Jack, "I take good care of everyone." However, when Jayden (Dever), a sexually abused girl, is brought to the foster home, Grace's life starts to unravel and her deepest secrets return to haunt her. Continue reading