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Short Term 12
Directed by
Destin Daniel Cretton
R
2013
1h 36m
Drama
7.9
98%
92%
Watch Free
A 20-something supervising staff member of a residential treatment facility navigates the troubled waters of that world alongside her co-worker and longtime boyfriend.
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Cast of Short Term 12
Brie Larson
Grace Howard
John Gallagher Jr.
Mason
Kaitlyn Dever
Jayden Cole
Rami Malek
Nate
LaKeith Stanfield
Marcus
Kevin Hernandez
Luis
Melora Walters
Dr. Hendler
Stephanie Beatriz
Jessica
Lydia Du Veaux
Kendra
Alex Calloway
Sammy
Frantz Turner
Jack
Diana Maria Riva
Nurse Beth
Harold Cannon
Mason's Dad
Silvia Curiel
Mason's Mom
Bran'dee Allen
Shawnta
Danny Roper
David
Elyssa Gutierrez
Anna
Garryson Zamora
Thom
Michael Marto
Connor
Patricia Barrett
Tracy
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Short Term 12 Ratings & Reviews
cursedbags
October 8, 2025
This Movie Is Criminally Underrated. Brie Larson Masterclass.
Chicago Reader
Ben Sachs
Set in a foster-care facility outside of San Francisco, this independent drama is vivid and heartfelt in its depiction of social work, at times recalling some of Frederick Wiseman's great documentary portraits.
Film Comment Magazine
Jonathan Robbins
Despite the heavy subject matter, the film never bogs down into the daily grief it depicts, but maintains a jaunty current of humor that counterbalances its melodramatic content.
Yahoo! Movies
Thelma Adams
The film succeeds by its simple storytelling technique - no explosions, no sweeping music signaling emotional peaks, no big reveals. It's just unsuperhumans...hoping to scratch out some joy and ward off the shadow of loneliness.
Austin Chronicle
Marjorie Baumgarten
The unembellished emotional honesty conveyed in the indie drama Short Term 12 is so expertly handled that it carries the viewer past any hesitations harbored regarding the film's overly familiar storyline.
Detroit News
Tom Long
"Short Term 12" is a sly wonder of a film. It brings you into its unique world and then slowly reveals its characters, letting them unfold gradually, organically.
Chicago Sun-Times
Richard Roeper
It's one of the best movies of the year and one of the truest portrayals I've ever seen about troubled teens and the people who dedicate their lives to trying to help them.
Denver Post
Lisa Kennedy
Short Term 12 captures the complex rhythms of institutional life -- for worker and inhabitant -- while weaving the story of Grace's journey through anguish toward, we hope, happiness.
HollywoodChicago.com
Brian Tallerico
Difficult to describe without it sounding manipulative or melodramatic but I'll do my best. Trust me when I tell you that this is one of the best films you'll see all year. It's pure, true, and remarkably moving.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Joe Williams
"Short Term 12" may sound like confinement, but it's a redemptive and even funny film that invites us to stay and grow.
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Kristin Tillotson
This surprising little sleeper will give you more big feelings in its first 15 minutes than every one of last summer's blockbusters combined.
USA Today
Claudia Puig
Don't be put off by its forgettable title. Short Term 12 is a deeply memorable film.
Seattle Times
John Hartl
"Short Term 12" is the kind of teen-oriented movie that's often dismissed as an "after-school special," but thanks to a nimble young cast it's frequently better than that.
Newsday
John Anderson
Tender, funny and real as a kick in the ribs.
The Atlantic
Christopher Orr
A compact masterpiece of storytelling that brims equally with ambition and humility. It is, by a wide margin, the best film I have seen so far this year.
Linoleum Knife
Alonso Duralde
There are any number of ways that Cretton could have made this material precious or sentimental, but he honors the story by forcing us to come to the characters rather than by underlining everything with close-ups and obvious musical cues.
Philadelphia Inquirer
Steven Rea
This is a film about hurt and healing, isolation and fear, need and rage - and it's not just the motley, messed-up crew of 14- and 15-year-olds who are trying to cope, trying to get better.
San Francisco Chronicle
Mick LaSalle
Any director who sees "Short Term 12" will want to cast Larson in something. This movie puts her on the map.
Boston Globe
Ty Burr
It's a lovely, tough-minded film.
Washington Post
Ann Hornaday
"Short Term 12" is that rare movie gutsy enough to tell the truth about love: that it's not a poetic longing or a magical-thinking happy ending, but a skill. And, the film suggests, we all have the capacity to learn it.
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