Short Term 12

Right now you can watch Short Term 12 in Australia on Amazon Prime Video and Beamafilm, and in the US on Amazon Prime Video and fuboTV — and it holds up to as much attention as you give it. The length is exactly right for the story it is telling — nothing rushed, nothing dragged out. An 8/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Watch it for Brie Larson — one of the stronger performances out there right now. Available now on Amazon Prime Video — press play and find out why people keep recommending it.

Short Term 12 arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. Character-driven storytelling at its most effective — Short Term 12 earns every emotional beat it goes for. Grace, a compassionate young supervisor at a foster care facility, helps at-risk teens. But when a new charge dredges up memories of her own troubled past, Grace's tough exterior begins eroding. Brie Larson and John Gallagher Jr. Lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 2013. Short Term 12 resists tidy resolutions in a way that respects how messy real consequences actually are. The hit rate here is high enough that skipping ahead never feels like an option.

Short Term 12 is what you recommend to people who say they do not really watch much. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. Short enough to finish in one sitting, substantial enough to feel satisfying. Brie Larson carries the material with a performance that rewards close attention. Worth starting sooner rather than later.