An astonishing, if not flawless, sophomore effort from director Michael Cuesta.

| Original Score: 3.5/4.0 | Sep 24, 2020

One of the most exceptional, down to Earth portrayals of childhood and adolescence in the face of tragedy I've ever seen...

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Sep 19, 2007

...generally succeeds in spite of its various deficiencies.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 16, 2007

[An] intelligent and edgy story that allows believable characters and their interpersonal dynamics to come alive as sinister undercurrents ripple below.

| Mar 1, 2007

The kids help get the film past its messy, low-budget look, aided by a strong ensemble of familiar adult faces.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 30, 2006

It doesn't sound like a barrel of laughs, but [director Michael] Cuesta finds wry humour in tragic situations while at the same time thickening the air with quiet foreboding.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 14, 2006

One of the films of the year. Unmissable.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Nov 9, 2006

... a film that never quite equals the sum of its many intriguing parts.

| Nov 9, 2006

With his modestly impressive young actors and moody lens, Cuesta finds the normal in the extreme.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Oct 25, 2006

A refracted glimpse of American suburbia through the eyes of three pre-teens grappling with grief, reprisal and loneliness, the film boasts some great adolescent performances but can't overcome a rigidly partitioned structure and tonal inconsistency.

| Original Score: C | Sep 22, 2006

A gripping drama examining the pains and frustrations--and also the hidden strengths--of youth.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 24, 2006

Though occasionally clumsy, it manages to accurately re-create the especial lonely pain of nascent pubescence, the shock of change and the feeling that no one has ever lived through the sort of emotional weather you're required to endure.

Full Review | Original Score: 92/100 | Aug 18, 2006

The film careens from crisis to crisis. Yet each time it threatens to spin out of control, [director Michael] Cuesta demonstrates a firm hand that keeps us leaning in with interest.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Aug 6, 2006

The children are operating without a safety net or a script typed with kid gloves, and that makes it all the more easy to fear for and sympathize with them, even as the plot takes outlandish twists.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 13, 2006

Twelve isn't always easy to watch. But it feels emotionally authentic -- not exploitive, not farfetchedly quirky.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jul 8, 2006

[Director Michael] Cuesta has found a terrific cast.

| Jul 8, 2006

The kids are very effective. Some laughs seem right, others catch in your throat. There is honest feeling, not sneering.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 7, 2006

From the parents to the children, the cast is uniformly excellent. Weizenbaum and Renner deserve special mention for handling a potentially unsettling relationship with care.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 7, 2006

Twelve and Holding unfortunately breaks down by trying to wrap up its problems too neatly.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 1, 2006

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.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 24, 2006