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12 and Holding
Three close knit 12-year-olds - introverted Jacob, precocious Malee and vulnerable Leonard - start down the path of self-discovery and begin to distinguish their own voices from those of their parents.
2006 · Directed by Michael Cuesta · 90 min · Drama · Screenplay in the scene database · 2 frames
Tagline
Do You Know Who Your Kids Are?
Plot
12-year-olds Rudy Carges and his overweight friend Leonard Fisher spend the night inside their treehouse after teenage bullies Jeff and Kenny threaten to destroy it. Jeff and Kenny arrive and set the treehouse on fire, not knowing Rudy and Leonard were in there until too late. Leonard escapes unharmed but then falls to the ground unconscious, while Rudy gets trapped and is burned to death offscreen.
Rudy's twin brother Jacob, an insecure boy with a huge birthmark, feels immense guilt for not being there to protect Rudy. At the hospital, Leonard recovers and finds out he lost his sense of taste and smell. Leonard is then prompted by his gym teacher to go on a diet, which isn't welcomed by his obese family. The boys' female friend Malee tries to befriend an adult named Gus, a grief-stricken patient of her therapist mother Carla. Jacob's family falls apart after the death of his brother, but soon after they adopt a boy named Keith Gardner. Meanwhile, Malee begins to have a crush on Gus and changes the song for her recital to one Gus likes. As time goes by, she sees Gus as her "soul mate". She sneaks into his house one night to find him grieving. Afraid to confront him, Malee steals his gun and leaves. She gives the gun to Jacob the following day.
Jacob's mother gets furious when she finds out Jeff and Kenny are being put in juvenile hall for only one year, while Jacob's father views Rudy's death as an accident. Jacob spends the next few months visiting Jeff and Kenny, and threatens them, until eventually Jeff commits suicide. Jacob sees Kenny grieving, so Jacob forgives and befriends Kenny; soon learning Kenny has an early release and is illegally moving to New Mexico. Meanwhile, Leonard's father decides to take Leonard's sisters to Florida for an annual trip instead of Leonard (who would usually go). Leonard decides to force his mother to lose weight by trapping her in the cellar. They both end up in the hospital after a gas leak in their home. Next, Jacob and Kenny agree that Jacob can go with him to New Mexico. Malee visits Gus and removes her clothes in an attempt to seduce him. Instead, Gus calls Malee's mother to come and pick her up. The next day, Gus explains to therapist Carla about the last fire he ever fought (which involved killing an injured little girl, upon the girl's request), claiming that Malee wanted him to take her pain away, as he was aware of her growing crush on him.
Plot summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
Crew
- Written by: Anthony Cipriano
- Cinematography: Romeo Tirone
- Edited by: Kane Platt, Eric Carlson
- Music: Pierre Földes
- Production design: Lucio Seixas
- Produced by: Brian Bell, Michael Cuesta, Jenny Schweitzer, Leslie Urdang
Cast
- Zoe Weizenbaum as Malee Chuang
- Conor Donovan as Jacob / Rudy Carges
- Jesse Camacho as Leonard Fisher
- Jeremy Renner as Gus Maitland
- Annabella Sciorra as Carla Chuang
- Jayne Atkinson as Ashley Carges
- Linus Roache as Jim Carges
- Marcia DeBonis as Grace Fisher
- Tom McGowan as Patrick Fisher
- Michael C. Fuchs as Kenny
Production
- Country: United States of America
- Language: English
- Studios: Serenade Films, Echo Lake Entertainment, Canary Films
- Budget: $400,000
- Box office: $314,017
- Themes: dying and death, new jersey, loss of loved one, tree house, twins, accidental killing
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