Steineded
How sad is this?
Afouotos
Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
Siflutter
It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.
brooklyn-gilmore
It's rare to stumble on a film that exceeds any preconceived expectations; a film that pushes the envelop to its limit, and yet delivers not one, but several messages with accuracy and poise. "12 and Holding" (2005) is this type of film. Director Michael Cuesta delivers an emotional masterpiece in redemption, conviction, and forgiveness.It all starts with a fire. A boy dies and lives are forever transformed. It's a domino effect. When change strikes it delivers forcing each character to take a journey into the unknown and face fear head on in a quest to find answers, satisfaction, and justification. All the facets that contemporary society clings to-hoping an eye for an eye won't make the whole world blind. Starving for male attention, one girl expresses her sexuality all too soon while one boy battles the opposition of being overweight, and the other comes to terms with his brother's death.This triangular approach to drama is breath-taking, eye awaking, and shocking. In a typical mainstream film, the audience is taken on a parallel journey. The protagonist (main character) guides the viewer down a path which ultimately leads to the antagonist whom is in opposition with the protagonist, and after a much needed war on conflict a resolution arises. Now, the resolution can satisfy the audience or disappoint. The point is that the end result is justified by action. "12 and Holding," an independent film, clearly defines dysfunction in a family dynamic in which case each family has its own hosts of problems to resolve in a twisted world."12 and Holding" maybe an independent film, but it's distinguished as a rare film to come by. The passion in which the story is told is lucid and frantic. It's a story of deliverance. Family dysfunction does not discriminate. It comes in all shapes, sizes, ethnicity, and religions. Family dysfunction is the cornerstone that binds families together, yet bridges the gap to despair. It sparks a need for change. A need for a reality check. And a need to break down barriers that leads to forgiveness and second chances.
ghostsarescared
How does this movie hold a 7.5 rating?! I spent most of the film cringing, groaning and giggling at inappropriate times. I feel like I could catch glimpses of what this film was trying to be, which was something rawer, something more profound. But most of the time it was like a TV movie on cough syrup. Why the Gilliam-esque angles? Why the horrible lighting? The score was ALL OVER THE PLACE and really out of touch with what was happening in the scene. Everything was overdone. The acting was terrible and cliché. Why do I care about any of these people? I was very confused as to whether this movie was trying to be serious or not. A vanity project. Try Harmony Korine or Todd Solondz if you want something like this, but better.
Neil Turner
This is an edgy little film that portrays twelve-year-olds in a far more reasonable light than most films. It doesn't paint a pretty picture, but the picture that it does paint illuminates three young people in a realistic manner.At the beginning of the film, you get a look at four young friends getting on with the kind of things that entertain most kids of twelve years. They share a tree house where they smoke, drink, and discuss the general topics of adolescents.Rudy and Jacob are twins, and the only thing that seems odd is that Jacob wears a hockey mask most of the time. Rudy is the outgoing twin whereas Jacob is the shy thinker. You later find that Jacob has a large birthmark on his face that seems to explain the difference in personality.Leonard is the fat kid from a family of fat parents and siblings.Malee is the girl of the group who is growing up in a broken home with a distant mother and an absent father.The lives of the three remaining are all changed when Rudy is killed and Leonard is injured by two other boys in an act of vandalism.As a result of his injury, Leonard can no longer smell and, therefore, no longer taste. Instead of continuing to indulge in the fried, sweet, and fattening food his mother so lovingly serves, Leonard commences a diet of fruits and vegetables. His whole family - especially his mother - is totally dismayed by his "strange" behavior. He also begins a daily exercise regimen which baffles them even more. The scenes with Leonard and his family are both comic and tragic - as is life itself. In order to "educate" his mother, Leonard commits some desperate but extremely foolish acts.Malee's distant mother is - ironically - a psychologist. Malee encounters one of her mother's patients in the waiting room. She later sees him shirtless at a construction site and becomes overwhelmed with infatuation. She engages in an all-out campaign to seduce him.Jacob is not only traumatized by the death of his twin but is also alienated by the actions of his parents. His father becomes emotionally distant while his mother is so filled with anger that she can think of nothing but vengeance upon the youths who are responsible for the death of her son. In short, neither is there for their living son.Needless-to-say this is all pretty heady stuff, but director Michael Cuesta is masterful in showing the viewer what might actually happen if all this were real. He - rightly so - makes watching the actions of these young people and the adults who surround them extremely uncomfortable. This is especially true in a scene where Malee seeks to sexually seduce the man with whom she has become infatuated. Cuesta's direction of the emotionally charged scene is masterful.Even though you will be shocked and dismayed, I heartedly recommend this film. It's not pretty, but it certainly is insightful.
MacAindrais
Twelve and Holding (2005) ***1/2Twelve and Holding is filled with some of the best performances by young kids as I've seen in a long time. Michael Cuesta directs the film very nicely and the film approaches a difficult subject of how young kids deal with tragedy and death head on. Though the film doesn't rank up there with Come and See, Forbidden Games, or Grave of the Fireflies, this is still a wonderful and delicate addition to that genre. The material in this film could have easily been turned into a nightmarish exploitation picture, but its done just right and focuses intently on the reality of these kids situations.Leonard's parents seem to be more caricatures than realistic, and there are some aspects of the screenplay which could have used some fine tuning, but overall Twelve and Holding is a powerful, heartbreaking and tragic film, handled oh so delicately by Cuesta and especially the young actors and some of the adults as well(especially Jeremy "Dags" Renner, who'da thunk it).A very nice little film that deserved a much wider audience than it got.3.5/4
