Twelve and Holding

Three 12-year-olds struggle to deal with the complexities of the adult world in this moving drama. Early in the film, an act of arson kills the twin brother of Jacob (Conor Donovan) and leaves him and his friends, precocious Malee (Zoë Weizenbaum) and overweight Leonard (Jesse Camacho), reassessing their barely lived lives. Jacob wants revenge on his brother's killers and visits them in a juvenile detention centre; Malee tries to seduce a troubled construction worker old enough to be her father; and Leonard decides to lose weight, much to the horror of his obese family. Despite the script's somewhat familiar coming-of-age themes, director Michael Cuesta (LIE) coaxes strong performances from his young cast, adding unexpected weight to a tender story of children old beyond their years but not quite ready for the responsibilities of adulthood.