Short Term 12 is the story of a young counselor at a foster-care facility for at-risk teenagers.  When I read this brief synopsis, I thought, “this movie has the potential to be extremely cliché via young counselor playING Jesus, “fixes” these kids.  Not only is that so far from the truth, this film was actually a giant breath of fresh air.

The film is told through the eyes of Grace (Brie Larson). You have this happy good-looking couple; they’re doing good things for these kids, and changing lives.  They’re good at their job, and good to each other, but as the film progresses there’s more, a pregnancy, and as her character acknowledges her pregnancy, it becomes the driving force of the film.

She’s suddenly hyper-aware of her surroundings. Her patients, their parents, and her boyfriend all have her wondering is she can bring this child into the world, if she even should.  Things get heavy when Grace’s past rears it’s ugly heard, causing a number of events that lead to a stimulating climax.

There was this dark, murky, mysterious quality to the performance that I think will really surprise the audience based on her history of light comedic roles. Brie Larson has officially, in my opinion, arrived in this breakout performance. The film’s impact is not going unnoticed either, winning top honors at the LA Film Festival, SXSW Festival, Nantucket Film Festival, to name a few, and I’m sure there will be more honors to come.

Short Term 12 is in theaters now.