07-04-07 12 and Holding (2005)

Seen: April 1st, 2007
Format: DVD
Rating: 7

Sometimes you want it easy. Easy to understand, easy on the eyes, easy to digest, easy to go to sleep. 12 and Holding is not that film.

There's something sacrosanct about youth. In our adulthood, we have the advantage of perspective and gradually come to realize how much of our true selves are formed in this ten or so years. We hold the joys and pains of these years high in our personal canon, they are often the most important of our lives. We also take care to protect those around us in this period of their lives. We want them to have the best experience possible because we know how important it come to be. We can even be a bit insistent.

Our protective tendency makes 12 and Holding effective. This film is about children on the very cusp of their adolescence having to deal with adult problems. They are not so much placed in harm's way, as the realities of the world come to visit early. For each, their very character is challenged and formed as we watch.

This is not about good and evil, right and wrong. It's about how they react, how they face their challenges, learn from their experience and integrate it into their being.

If the characters were adults, the situations might be cliche or trite. Hundreds of adult characters have faced these issues. But the fact that this are very young adults captures our attention. We are engaged and even enthralled because of the scale of the impact for them. We may be shocked at how adult their reactions are, and the resolve with which they act.

The most similar film that comes to mind is Stand by Me. King recognized the impact of placing kids in situations more commonly facing adults. Other thriller and horror writers have done the same, including Dan Simmons and the Brothers Grimm.

It's not a new idea, but it may be the most fundamentally compelling one.

The Good: Change, it's not just for adults any more

The Bad: Justice for all

The Ugly: Looking for love in all the wrong places