The film careens from crisis to crisis. Yet each time it threatens to spin out of control, [director Michael] Cuesta demonstrates a firm hand that keeps us leaning in with interest.
Comment
08/06/06
Rate this Movie 
12 and Holding (2006)
74
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work
Reviews Counted:27
Fresh:20
Rotten:7
Average Rating:6.4/10
Consensus: This shocking pre-teen drama manages, through realistic performances and a sense of empathy, to avoid exploitation and instead deliver something honest and haunting.
Theatrical Release:May 19, 2006 Limited
Synopsis: Director Michael Cuesta follows up his debut film L.I.E. with another harrowing coming-of-age tale in TWELVE AND HOLDING. Cuesta casts young Conor Donovan as his lead, with the impressive actor... [More]
Get This Movie
Reviews for 12 and Holding
Top CriticRaw and unpredictable. It's also compelling.
06/16/06
Top CriticFlawed but compassionate study of kids struggling with grown-up issues without much adult supervison.
06/16/06
Top CriticThe stories coexist without intersecting, and the film would benefit from a stronger narrative spine, but bringing together three such gifted young actors in a single film is a minor miracle.
06/15/06
Top CriticCuesta entices extraordinary performances out of his young actors.
06/09/06
Top CriticOne of those American indie films that can be filed into the diagnostic category of Facile with Delusions of Profundity.
06/09/06
Top CriticFollows the youngsters over the course of a tumultuous year, during which time Cuesta and screenwriter Anthony Cipriano succeed in making the audience care desperately whether they're okay and whether the adults in their lives do the right thing.
06/08/06
Top CriticThese are strange, heartbreaking, emotionally wounded kids. I found myself rooting for them. But the adults are caricatures, [and] the film feels condescending in parts.
06/05/06
Top CriticIlluminating and unsettling.
06/02/06
Top CriticThat a film about kids dares to be so without being exploitive or easy is both astonishing and admirable, if also shockingly harsh at times.
06/02/06
Top CriticThe film is as oblivious as the adults.
06/02/06
Top CriticTwelve and Holding could have been a series of horror stories, but the filmmakers and their gifted young actors somehow negotiate the horrors and generate a deep sympathy.
06/02/06
Top CriticCuesta prizes curiosity and perception over conflict resolution. He likes the way kids take their cues from adults and the ways they revolt against them.
06/02/06
Top CriticThe trio of youths at the heart of first-time screenwriter Anthony S. Cipriano's script do shocking, outrageous things, events seemingly arising not so much from genuine character motivations as from desire for the film to shock and be outrageous.
06/02/06
Top CriticThe kids deliver uniformly solid, occasionally remarkable performances.
06/01/06
Top CriticMichael Cuesta's film 12 and Holding flashes a laser beam on ... the moment between childhood and adolescence when unguarded emotions and fantasies still rule, but adult experience beckons.
05/27/06
Top CriticSmart, compassionate filmmaking that captures both the intricacies and the tragedy of contemporary adolescence.
05/26/06
Top CriticThey are believable 12-year olds: intelligent (but not too intelligent) yet naïve, and trying with mixed success to navigate the path of adolescence.
05/25/06
Top CriticThe young cast is terrific, giving the stories unearned weight.
05/23/06
Top CriticThe director has elicited excellent performances from his trio of young performers, who deliver unfailingly realistic portrayals even while their characters often defy credibility.
05/20/06
Top CriticRT On Current TV
What’s Hot On RT
Fresh Links
Featured
MSN's Year in Review 
Take a look at MSN's choices for the Top 10 films of 2009.
Moviefone's Year End Movie Poll
What were your favorites? Least favorites? The funniest and scariest? Moviefone wants to know!
Tarantino's Characters
Hollywood.com explores why QT's characters resonate so well with audiences.
Top 10 Movies of 2009
TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.
Top 20 of the Decade
Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!
IGN RSS Feeds