Netflix Pick: SHORT TERM 12

Spend more time browsing Netflix than you do watching movies?  This new recurring column may be able to help with that by recommending movies available on Netflix instant streaming; not the big recent releases that the casual moviegoer is likely to have seen already, but not necessarily the littlest, obscure arthouse movies either.  These are movies that are likely to appeal to wide audiences, but are small enough that they may have passed by the wayside of major mainstream success, or are fairly older and unfamiliar to contemporary audiences.
 
SHORT TERM 12  (DRAMA, 2013) 
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton
Starring: Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr., Kaitlyn Dever, Rami Malek, Keith Stanfield, Kevin Hernandez, Melora Waters, Stephanie Beatriz
Rated R for language and brief sexuality. 
96 minutes

This ultra-low budget independent drama follows Grace (Brie Larson, also seen in 21 JUMP STREET and SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD), a young woman who acts as a supervisor at a group home for troubled teenagers.  Emotionally troubled herself, Grace spends her time sharing work stories with her fellow supervisors, including Mason (John Gallagher, Jr., seen in The Newsroom), who she has an on-and-off intimate relationship with, and Nate (Rami Malek, seen in NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM), a new hire who she's showing the ropes to.  Grace has recently discovered that she's pregnant, despite her apprehension at the idea of being a mother, while she does her best to create a safe environment for the angry and disadvantaged teens under her care, including young people about to be thrust out into the real world and a young woman who may have an abusive relationship with her father.
SHORT TERM 12 is very heavy film that deals with very heavy, real-world themes, but it also picks you up with images of resilience and hope, and while never glib or disrespectful, the characters approach their lives with wry humor, so it's never overbearing.  But it feels real, and reminds you of the hopeful possibilities in which damaged people can overcome the real darkness of the world and come into their own as successful adults.  I cannot recommend this movie highly enough.