Short Term 12

Ninety-nine-point-nine-repeating-to-infinity percent of all “nice white lady” films are pure crap and go figure the exception grossed less than five million dollars. Cretton’s later “Just Mercy” was celebrated for how it breathed life into a story that could’ve been mined for typical schmaltz, but he’s better here, giving his actors space to bring to life a gaggle of potential system crashers and the twentysomethings tasked with keeping them and themselves in line. The result is a film of whimsy and power, where some of its most wrenching moments sneak up on you. Possibly the most underrated film of its decade.

9