Apparently, whenever a gun makes it appearance early on in a Michael Cuesta film, you can guarantee that somehow it will find its way to the forefront of the action, usually culminating in an act of senseless violence. I'm not sure that this depiction is necessarily a good thing, especially when the leads in this movie are little more than child actors. I can understand the point -- violence always manages to make its way in one form or other into the homes of American families -- but for the most, this seems to be some perverted version of Judy Blume thrown onto our faces in the form of an "intelligent movie".
Three stories intertwine, stemming from the tragic death of the twin brother of the main character played by Conor Donovan. The first is Conor's: he has a birth defect, a red smudge on the side of his face that has led him to believe his parents prefer his brother even after he has died. A heated argument between Conor's parents where the mother demands justice be served to the boys who caused her son's death triggers something in Conor that leads him to taunt the boy who is in prison, although he later befriends him after seeing him cry. Because really, it really was a senseless act that snowballed into tragedy.
Tragedy also seems to be looming over Leonard Fisher and Malee Chuang but in different ways. Leonard, having barely escaped the fire that killed Conor's brother inside their treehouse, has decided to lose weight and pursues his goal with monomaniacal determination. Malee, on the other hand, falls for a hunky construction worker who is aware of her attraction and passively leads her on as he goes to her mother, a psychologist,for therapy. This is where the gun makes its appearance -- at his house, where Malee breaks in because she wants to get a peek at him. She gets the gun out of his house, gives it to Conor, forgets about it... and the third act is set.
TWELVE AND HOLDING is an uncomfortable movie to watch because of the situation it places Malee. Yet, it's brutally honest in addressing adolescent crushes on people they look up to because it's something everyone goes through: everyone has had that irresistible attraction to someone older, a teacher perhaps, and written about it in their diary or blog... Malee decides to act it out instead, more than likely not fully aware of what she is doing. But because it's so honest and so true, it can become this mobile moment when people may react in a squeamish way. However, it's artfully handled -- especially when the construction worker (Jeremy Renner) later confesses how this extremely precarious scene helped him resolve some inner demons to Malee's mother (Annabella Sciorra).
The other two boys' stories are a little less interesting. Leonard's obsession with losing weight puts him and his mother in a situation that looks exactly like a Rube Goldberg sequence. Conor's, while more believable, is still less satisfying because his parents, ,like Malee's and Leonards, are totally clueless about how to approach him. And it's because of this inability to relate that he finally acts out, and I have to say, Cuesta has to find other ways not to include the Necessary Gun into the picture. It is possible to tell a risky story without having to incorporate that into the story's message. But... that's my opinion. TWELVE AND HOLDING is better in some ways, but still... not quite.
Three stories intertwine, stemming from the tragic death of the twin brother of the main character played by Conor Donovan. The first is Conor's: he has a birth defect, a red smudge on the side of his face that has led him to believe his parents prefer his brother even after he has died. A heated argument between Conor's parents where the mother demands justice be served to the boys who caused her son's death triggers something in Conor that leads him to taunt the boy who is in prison, although he later befriends him after seeing him cry. Because really, it really was a senseless act that snowballed into tragedy.
Tragedy also seems to be looming over Leonard Fisher and Malee Chuang but in different ways. Leonard, having barely escaped the fire that killed Conor's brother inside their treehouse, has decided to lose weight and pursues his goal with monomaniacal determination. Malee, on the other hand, falls for a hunky construction worker who is aware of her attraction and passively leads her on as he goes to her mother, a psychologist,for therapy. This is where the gun makes its appearance -- at his house, where Malee breaks in because she wants to get a peek at him. She gets the gun out of his house, gives it to Conor, forgets about it... and the third act is set.
TWELVE AND HOLDING is an uncomfortable movie to watch because of the situation it places Malee. Yet, it's brutally honest in addressing adolescent crushes on people they look up to because it's something everyone goes through: everyone has had that irresistible attraction to someone older, a teacher perhaps, and written about it in their diary or blog... Malee decides to act it out instead, more than likely not fully aware of what she is doing. But because it's so honest and so true, it can become this mobile moment when people may react in a squeamish way. However, it's artfully handled -- especially when the construction worker (Jeremy Renner) later confesses how this extremely precarious scene helped him resolve some inner demons to Malee's mother (Annabella Sciorra).
The other two boys' stories are a little less interesting. Leonard's obsession with losing weight puts him and his mother in a situation that looks exactly like a Rube Goldberg sequence. Conor's, while more believable, is still less satisfying because his parents, ,like Malee's and Leonards, are totally clueless about how to approach him. And it's because of this inability to relate that he finally acts out, and I have to say, Cuesta has to find other ways not to include the Necessary Gun into the picture. It is possible to tell a risky story without having to incorporate that into the story's message. But... that's my opinion. TWELVE AND HOLDING is better in some ways, but still... not quite.