After the poor showing at Sundance and a defectively constructed trailer, the poster for Twelve is just the item I need to justify my high hopes for the film, even if it’s just a little bit. Had I not read a single review, seen any stills or caught the film’s trailer, this is what I’d imagine the film’s poster to look like.
The film is being marketed as though Chace Crawford’s character, White Mike, is the star. In Nick McDonell’s book, upon which the film is based, White Mike may be the centerpiece of the work as the one who unites all of the characters, but only a portion of the tale is told from his perspective. Of course, having not seen the film, it’s totally possible Jordan Melamed skewed the source material a bit to keep White Mike front and center, but I’ve got my fingers crossed that’s not the case for it’s McDonell’s converging storytelling technique that makes the events of the book so profound. This image comes as a glimmer of hope that at least some of that execution was preserved.
For those unfamiliar with the book, the character on the top left is, of course, Crawford as White Mike, the guy who deals drugs to the richest teens in New York City. To his left is Emma Roberts as White Mike’s innocent friend Molly who’s unaware of his occupation. Below her is someone who’s not so innocent, Lionel (Curtis Jackson), White Mike’s supplier. One of his best customers? The young lady just below him, Jessica (Emily Meade), who becomes addicted to a drug called twelve. In the bottom row we’ve got Billy Magnussen as Claude and to his left, his younger brother Chris played by Rory Culkin. The last box belongs to the local hottie, Sara (Esti Ginzburg).
I’m thrilled to provide some Twelve 101, but I strongly advise that you pick up a copy of McDonell’s book before checking out the film version when it hit theaters on July 30th. Like I said, I’m still optimistic, but just in case, we wouldn’t want to spoil a good book.
By Perri Nemiroff
