Twelve (2010)

Did not expect it to be as good or interesting as it was. Chance Crawford was stellar. I did not think he had it in him to go that deep into that character, but he proved otherwise. 50 cent was VERY realistic and Emma Roberts was an angel. Joel's directing style was surprisingly coherent and free flowing. Several story lines meshed together perfectly creating a very deep and sincere drama. It was amazing seeing how wealthy human being that have everything at their disposal can still self destruct. The dark side of humanity is very present in this story. Overall, I recommend seeing this one. You will not be disappointed.

Fmovies: Just caught the premier of "Twelve" today and left the theater shocked. Having never read or heard of the book before now, i entered the cinema knowing two things; first that it was directed by Joel Schumacher an astounding filmmaker, and second that because it was accepted into Sundance, it must have some exceptional parts.

Needless to say, the film exceeded expectation and moved into the realm of surreal. Like every film at Sundance, the director said a few words before screening started. Now most people know Schumacher from his hit's like, "Phantom of the Opera", "Phone Booth", or his flawed Batman's. However I've been privileged to see his early work, which includes, "The Lost Boy's", "Flatliners", and "8MM". Yet despite the high mark which his previous films set, "Twelve" pulls up to and even surpasses some.

Chace Crawford was an inspiration in the lead role and though it was the first film I've seen him in, i hope he continues a successful career.

The other actor's all give supreme performances, though my personal favorite in the film is one you might despise me for. Billy Magnussen as Claude, who carries out his character in magnificent form and had the role been given to anyone else, the movie would've been sorely injured.

The insight into teenagers, especially the rich, stands unrivaled. Nick McDonell wrote true people, character's that are 3D and whom you can relate to. As a seventeen year old myself i am grateful for his gift to our generation.

The five million dollar budget which this film was made on, and the twenty-three day's in which it was shot, proves the genius of everyone working on it. And when the cast and crew stood on stage at the end to answer questions, i felt the need to clap till my hands bled. And to stress the point Joel made, there is a comedy in this film that supersedes anything you've seen before. But to truly appreciate every aspect and genre in it, you must be of an open mind, and willing to see even the gritty parts in teenagers.

No matter what the bad reviews say about the story, acting, or premise, this movie is worth seeing simply as a work of art. This film should be included in every list of movies given to cinematographers to learn from. The camera work and visual style of this film is enough to earn it at least an 8/10 rating, and when you add in the characterization that's on par with most best-picture winners, you have a 9-10 rating. There are parts of this movie where you can't help but feel drawn into the story. The storytelling is incredible. If the characters on screen are feeling depressed or confused due to an intense drug trip, the audience feels the same way. This is done through masterful camera work, narration, dialogue, flashbacks, lighting, sound, and plot. This film should be viewed by all and revered as a work of art by all who have the authority. 15-25 year-olds will connect immediately with the story, and everyone else will be in awe soon after. A great film all around.

Twelve fmovies. After making his abominations of Batman with 'Batman Forever' and 'Batman & Robin,' Joel Schumacher lost a lot of respect from basically all of the film-going community. However, to me, he has had enough solid flicks like 'The Lost Boys,' 'Phantom of the Opera,' 'St. Elmo's Fire,' and '8MM' to at least have some credibility.

Unfortunately, his newest film 'Twelve' is one more addition to the negative side of his filmography. It tells the story of White Mike (Chace Crawford), a young wealthy drug dealer in New York City whose already complicated life becomes even more problematic when his cousin is murdered and the prime suspect becomes Hunter (Philip Ettinger), White Mike's best friend.

Perhaps the most obvious issue about 'Twelve' that negatively affects the rest of the film comes from Kiefer Sutherland's constant narration throughout. It's a common mantra among screenwriters to "show, not tell," but writer Jordan Melamed decided to throw off those typical conventions and tell every single detail of every single moment through the voice-over narration. This contributed to the other problems of the film, including the stilted dialogue & awkward acting. It's hard to deliver lines well when the actor is being forced to randomly pause mid-sentence to let Kiefer Sutherland explain what is going on in the scene.

Ignoring the issues caused by the overdone narration, it's hard to find much to like about the film. Joel Schumacher's direction is interesting enough, and the cast is nice to look at, but that's about it. The story is nothing special and is easily overshadowed by other "drug-induced youth" films like 'Less Than Zero' and 'Holy Rollers.' For this reason, 'Twelve' will never be more than just a mediocre attempt at something that's been done much better many times before. I'd like to see Schumacher return to what he was able to do in the late '80s with 'St. Elmo's Fire' and 'The Lost Boys,' but it doesn't look that will be happening anytime soon.

Final Verdict: 5/10.

-AP3-

Twelve is the drug passed on several young hands by drug dealers White Mike (Chace Crawford) and Lionel (50 Cent). White Mike is the main character of "Twelve", a former college student that drop out his studies, his friends and his family after the death of his mother; and after that he deals with his suffering by selling drugs to other people that seems to have a pain just like him but what we see is a crowd of young getting high in parties, having fun and more fun, and some drama.

This story reminded me of Bret Easton Ellis book "Less Than Zero" where the relations between drug dealers and their rich young clients are presented in a giant wave of repetition where the lives of all characters seems to going downhill, and no one of them can't do anything to get out the vicious circle of drugs and dangerous pleasures. The difference between Ellis book and this film (adapted from a book written by Nick McDonell) is how both medias work with the theme and here in "Twelve" the tragedies might lead to a possible solution, sometimes positive, other times negative. But while you don't get there to the solutions you're gonna walk over and over the same dull routine of futile characters that is very difficult to feel empathy.

White Mike is the notable exception between these characters and the only who I could relate a little, despite his selfishness in dealing with everyone, turning his back to the world, selling drugs to several people but without using it. You can sense that he's there is this world to suffer and suffer again, but he doesn't release that he makes many other lives suffer too. Not only these characteristics must be appointed but also the fact that he didn't need to do this "job", he was a bright student, had friends and all, but the only thing he hasn't lost was his good looks and his fine clothes (which is quite unusual considering his line of work). Crawford builds brilliantly the only interesting character in the film, the one who gets you hooked in every moment he appears, and the only one who makes the world go round to all the other characters, who most of the time are dead, shallow, ignorant and whining.

And the main problem why we can't connect with some of the supporting figures is because we haven't got enough time to feel their pain, feel their tragedies (if there is one in the lives of rich teenagers who happens to have good education, good clothes and all their parents and their money can buy). They walk, smile, have good looks and are annoying and that's it (Rory Culkin doesn't enter in this list, he's quite good). The screenplay could have done so much better also in terms of presenting a more intriguing and thrilling story; the dramatic problem here is that we can't feel the pain and misery of everyone involved in a world like the one presented in "Twelve". It should have make me feel sad, angry, depressive for seeing how wasted these characters was; instead, it only give me repulsive and detractive feelings towards all of them. But the final message of living the best life that you can saved the film a little, but too little too late. It helps (specially if you consider to which character I'm talking about) but until we reach this moment the movie already lost its course.

It's more problems of a good screenplay than a direction problem, but Joel Schumacher should have interfered more with what had in hands, and exclude the annoying voice-over made by Kiefer Suther

For all the people saying this should be like an 80s kid drug film, or the narrator was annoying. First of all, the drug scene has dramatically changed since the 80s. As far as the narrator, think of the film like a book, there is often an omnipotent narrator that knows more than the characters and tells the story. That's the way the film is done, and it actually works here.

An omnipotent narrator fills in the gaps, and that is exactly what he does in Twelve.

I'm more irritated that people think that the drug scene, in any city, is exactly the same as it was 30 years ago is crazy. Drugs change. Prices change. Kids change. Everything changes. Our entire American culture has changed. So, of course, drugs have changed.