Twelve and Holding unfortunately breaks down by trying to wrap up its problems too neatly.
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07/01/06
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12 and Holding (2006)
74
%
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Reviews Counted:76
Fresh:56
Rotten:20
Average Rating:6.7/10
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]
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Reviews for 12 and Holding
A film that has a lot of good individual ingredients but no real idea of how to pull them all together into a satisfying whole.
06/24/06
Cipriano and Cuesta push things too far, as the kids' behavior moves from merely obsessive to downright sociopathic.
06/23/06
Even if childhood innocence seems to be going the way of the hula hoop, Cuesta is far too willing to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
06/23/06
Raw and unpredictable. It's also compelling.
06/16/06
Top CriticIt's a lot of drama to pack into just more than 90 minutes, and Cuesta's low-key visual approach plays nicely against the film's roiling passions and over-the-top (some might say too over-the-top) final act.
06/16/06
Flawed but compassionate study of kids struggling with grown-up issues without much adult supervison.
06/16/06
The excellent casting and acting, the strong script and subtle plotting build into a carefully crafted roller coaster ride.
06/16/06
The young actors are strong enough to triumph over the weaknesses of the script.
06/15/06
An intriguing -- if not indelible -- portrait of the difficulty of being not just an adolescent, but the parent of one.
06/15/06
The 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
Cipriano and...Cuesta (L.I.E.) show realism, tender regard, and the benefit of the doubt for their young characters, but little of the same to their childish parents.
06/09/06
Cuesta entices extraordinary performances out of his young actors.
06/09/06
The children are precocious about some things and hopelessly naive about others, just like in real life, and the performances from Michael Cuesta's young cast are remarkable.
06/09/06
One 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
Cuesta proves a master with his young cast, coaxing memorable performances from Weizenbaum, Camacho and Donovan
06/07/06
Directors like Todd Solondz and Larry Clark are fond of tormenting and exploiting their young characters, but Cuesta seems to sympathize with his.
06/06/06
These 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 CriticTwelve and Holding is a tale of young friends who deal with death and family crises.
06/04/06
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