Looking at this years most recent oscar nominees, they all seem to share a similar theme: none of them are as good as Short Term 12. It’s a low budget film that contains no expensive special effects, sets made in a warehouse, or fancy costumes. It’s a film that simply relies on its characters and the conversations among them to entertain you.
Short Term 12 has the simplest plot of any movie talked yet on this blog. It follows the kids and faculty of a home for underprivileged children. That’s it. However the people that this film surrounds are some of the most authentic, influential, and entertaining characters in any movie. We see the struggles these children face and the way they handle them. We see the relationship troubles that come to two faculty members of the home, and we see the emotional tole that one characters home life has on another. This is an emotionally resent film that sticks with you for days. It characters are relatable and have qualities that can be found in each and every one of us. This is one of the few films that has left me in tears by the end of it, and begging it to never be over. These are people I would want to spend my weekend with and the hour and a half spent with them seeing their lives unfold in new, interesting, heartbreaking, relatable, and heartwarming ways is one of the most rewarding movie watching experiences. It is a film that can be watched over and over again and continue to feel fresh and new, and that is what I recommend you do, watch this film over and over again. Or maybe everything I’m saying is wrong and you hate it your first watch and never want to see it again. Either way I highly recommend you watch this film. Thanks for reading and make sure to come back next week for another installation of Jackson’s obscure film of the week
