Twelve (2010)

A young drug dealer watches as his high-rolling life is dismantled in the wake of his cousin's murder, which sees his best friend arrested for the crime.

Director:

Joel Schumacher

Writers:

Jordan Melamed (screenplay), Nick McDonell (novel)

Stars:

Chace Crawford, Emma Roberts, Rory Culkin

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chace Crawford	...	White Mike
Rory Culkin	...	Chris
Philip Ettinger	...	Hunter
Esti Ginzburg	...	Sara Ludlow
50 Cent	...	Lionel (as Curtis Jackson)
Zoë Kravitz	...	Gabby
Billy Magnussen	...	Claude
Emily Meade	...	Jessica Brayson
Emma Roberts	...	Molly
Ellen Barkin	...	Jessica's Mother
Kiefer Sutherland	...	Narrator (voice)
Ako	...	Mrs. Fong
Dionne Audain	...	Nana's Mother
Gregg Bello	...	Detective Keminski
Maxx Brawer	...	Andrew

Storyline

A young drug dealer watches as his high-rolling life is dismantled in the wake of his cousin's murder, which sees his best friend arrested for the crime.

---

Plot Keywords:

younger version of character | murder | generation y | coitus | strained relationship | 

---

Taglines:

No one needs anything here. It's all about want.

---

Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong drug content, alcohol abuse, language, sexual material, brief nudity and some violence - all involving teens

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Joel Schumacher previously worked with Emma Roberts' aunt Julia Roberts (who was also formerly engaged to Kiefer Sutherland) on Flatliners (1990) and Dying Young (1991).

---

Goofs

At the party, as Claude is shooting, you can clearly see the slide on his Glock lock back indicating that the magazine is empty, but he shoots three more times.

---

Quotes

Narrator: So you're born in the capital of the world and you can never escape. And that's how it is because that's how everyone wants it to be. It is all about want. No one needs anything here. It is about when you wake up in the morning and the snow is already coming down and it's bright between the buildings where the sun falls but already dark where the shadows are. And it's all about the want. What do you want? Because if you don't want something you've got nothing. You are adrift. You're washed away...

---

Connections

References Terminator Salvation (2009)

---

Soundtracks

Twins
Written by Tobias J Record and Ashley Witt
Performed by Toby Record and Ashley Witt
Courtesy of All Ears Music

User Reviews

Instant and Incessant Gratification: A Study of Today's Wealthy Youth

TWELVE is a film that is at first terrifying in its message about the irresponsible, uncontrollable drive for physical gratification among the wealthy youth of New York, and then a film that makes us profoundly sad that this is what we in our permissive, no established behavioral boundaries society have produced. Joel Schumacher knows his game and once again forces us to examine what we have produced in failing to give our younger generation the security for learning guidelines for social interaction. Jordan Melemed adapted Nick McDonell's novel for the screen and the flow of the story is in the form of offscreen narration by Kiefer Sutherland.

'Twelve' is the new play drug in the party circles of New York City and is supplied to the kids by Lionel (50 Cent), all other drugs being the purview of White Mike (Chace Crawford), a lad whose mother's death from cancer has left him aimless, electing to deal drugs rather than join his confreres in going to the 'proper colleges'. White Mike watches as his high-rolling life is dismantled in the wake of his cousin's murder, which sees his best friend arrested for the crime. White Mike believes that his fellow youth don't need anything, they just want everything and the nexus of his philosophy is drugs. A grossly dysfunctional family of boys - Chris (Rory Culkin), Hunter (Phillip Ettinger) and Claude (Billy Magnussen) - have 'famous parties' in their parents' absence especially for the local bedbunny Sara (Esti Ginzburg). Another sad character is Jessica (Emily Meade) who takes 'Twelve' by mistake and then becomes addicted while her floozy mother (Ellen Barkin) and her supplier Lionel alter her life. The murder of White Mike's cousin and the subsequent effect it has on the rest of these young people leads to a disastrous conclusion. Their lives are as empty as their drug-addled brains.

A story of decay and decadence and misplaced ideals, TWELVE is not pretty to watch, but the performances by some of these young actors make it memorable, forcing us to look at what we've done to our youth.

Grady Harp

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [France]

Country:

USA France

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 August 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Twelve

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$110,238, 8 August 2010

Gross USA:

$183,920

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,648,195

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gaumont, Hannover House, Radar Pictures

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Dolby SR DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1