Director Michael Cuesta continues to improve his admirable coverage of the child world we live in America today, with his second and even more captivating "Twelve and Holding". After making a name for himself with the controversial, but honestly made "L.I.E.", Cuesta continues his focus with the little covered underbelly of modern youth but broadens his narrative to fill out three amazing young characters. Tackling issues head on, whether courting controversy or not, Cuesta and noticeable first timer scribe Anthony Cipriano remain fearless in their explorations, never becoming intoxicated by the exploitation factor that lies right around the corner with every potential move. In effect, this style serves these bold young actors well in portraying an air of realism, no matter how extreme a situation, more distinctly so then any Larry Clark film has ever mustered. Despite the dramatic turns and extreme situations that fly through the quick film, the characters stay consistently grounded to their respective realities, no doubt due to the wonderfully moving material, but also in no small part to the triumphant three performances that usually held more sincerity and truth in simple glances then most overpriced, pretty faced, Hollywood players can ever try to fake us into pretending we are convinced. Despite the main character being the weakest of the three, and against some of the more implausible moments that puncture the believability, one would still be hard pressed to find a more incredible and challenging experience of preteen wonderment, at least from an American perspective, in many years
Review of 12 and Holding
