12 and Holding

The accidental death of a 12-year-old boy casts a long shadow over the lives of his twin brother (Conor Donovan) and two close friends (Jesse Camacho, Zoe Weizenbaum) in this 2005 feature by Michael Cuestra. The shock of seeing kids this age treated without the standard cliches led me to overlook some of the limitations of Anthony S. Cipriano’s script, which avoids assigning blame but tends to systematize the families’ dysfunctions. Cuesta directs the lead actors with such feeling that their misery seems authentic; also good are Jeremy Renner as a traumatized ex-fireman and Annabella Sciorra as his therapist. 94 min. a Landmark’s Century Centre.

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