 A FilmExposed Film Review |
 Dir: Michael Cuesta, 2005, USA, 94 mins
Cast: Conor Donovan, Zoe Weizenbaum, Jesse Camacho
Michael Cuesta’s masterful debut feature L.I.E. (Long Island Expressway) (2001) was too much for some viewers to take, dealing as it did with the exploitation of children, and their own helpless participation in such crimes. His follow up Twelve and Holding continues to examine the harsh realities of growing up in American suburbia. The children are younger and (arguably) more innocent, but their confusion and tragedy is equally poignant and horrifying.
Shy, facially disfigured Jacob Carges (Donovan) loses his twin brother Rudy when local bullies burn down their clubhouse. Their friend Malee Chung (Weizenbaum) mourns Rudy’s death, while also struggling to deal with her parents’ acrimonious break-up. She develops a crush on local construction worker Gus (ex-CSI star Jeremy Renner), eavesdropping on his psychiatric consultations with her mother (Annabella Sciorra). Meanwhile, overweight Leonard Fisher (Camacho) struggles to get in shape, to the concern of his food-obsessed parents.
Like its predecessor, Twelve and Holding focuses on the effects of unexpected tragedy, the emotional fallout from Rudy’s death colouring every frame, sometimes literally. But this is very much an ensemble piece, with all three stories given equal weight and significance, a juggling of plots which screenwriter Anthony Cipriano manages with commendable skill. While some narrative cohesion is necessarily sacrificed, the sense of widened scope and perspective this technique lends is ultimately effective, the often-brutal events onscreen contrasted but never softened by moments of sweet sadness and sly comedy.
Cuesta’s eye for casting is flawless. The teenage cast, from Donovan’s wounded Jacob to Camacho’s driven, bullheaded Leonard, effortlessly outshines experienced actors like Sciorra and Linus Roache (as the twins’ bereaved father). But particular mention must be made of Zoe Weizenbaum, whose luminous performance centres the film, giving Malee a vulnerability and depth of feeling that is simply astonishing. It’s close to a perfect performance, without doubt one of the best ever given by someone so young. The scenes between Malee and Gus are heartstopping, at once terrifying and hilarious, pathetic and beautiful. Malee places absolute faith in her own overwhelming desire, and Weizenbaum never falters for a second, a display of miraculous focus and concentration.
Twelve and Holding cements Cuesta’s reputation both as a director and as a social commentator, viewing his subjects with equal detachment and humanity, involving himself in their dramas without ever losing control or perspective. His films manage to be both intimate and cinematic, fiercely independent but not too arty, simple, even sentimental, but never patronising. A minor classic, this may very well turn out to be the best American film of the year. |
