Well, well, well. A teen movie that isn’t trying to sell a soundtrack. Thirteen is a film about adolescents that actually tackles the real issues they face with unflinching eyes. The last time that happened, the movie was called KIDS, was rated NC-17 by the geniuses at the MPAA so that no teen could see it and saw its message about safe sex go unheard. With an R rating for some of its intense situations, Thirteen and its engrained warnings about what can happen if you don’t parent your child effectively at that age, is something that the Freddy Prince Junior movies of the 90’s and even the studio censored Crazy/Beautiful, never touched on. I won’t ruin the films beginning. It may be too realistic and disturbing for some to stomach but its impact drives home the fact that this is no after school special.

Evan Rachel Wood, of ABC’s canceled television drama, Once and Again, carries this movie on her back from the first scene until the credits roll and the lights go up. Wood’s Tracy is the focal point of this movie and is extremely reminiscent of Claire Danes’s Angela Chase from the similarly canceled ABC drama, My So-Called Life. Both girls deal with adolescent angst and both feature a bad influence, in Thirteen, it’s the co-writer of the screenplay, Nikki Reed, who portrays that influence (Evie Zamora) so perfectly. The film’s first time director and screenplay co-writer, Catherine Hardwicke, shows the viewer a clear view of a teen girl who’s enduring a troubled home life. Karen Monerieff effectively did the same thing earlier this year with her directing efforts in Blue Car.

Unlike Blue Car, which is a poignant film, moving one moment and twisted the next, Thirteen is a descent into darkness and despair in the vein of Requiem for a Dream. The film moves Tracy quickly from the safe confines of writing poetry to the risqué arena of wearing thongs above jeans and drug experimentation. Throughout the movie, Evie grows more and more dependent on Tracy. As Tracy relationship with her mother, played by Holly Hunter, a mother barely holding her life together, begins falling apart, Evie becomes a surrogate part of the family and begins calling Hunter’s Melanie, Mom. When Evie’s biggest fantasy about Melanie and Tracy is destroyed, Evie takes her revenge as methodically as only a classic teen bad girl can.

This is not an easy movie to view. It has many difficult scenes, one of note being the “Jail Bait, Rape Scene.” I know what you’re thinking and it’s not that at all. It’s something else along the lines of Disclosure. Thirteen is not a movie for everybody, it’s a little too aggressive in tone for teens to sit through without a parent next to him or her but it’s acted superbly by actual teens and not twenty year olds. Teenagers of Tracy and Evie’s age will be more receptive to the underlining messages in Thirteen because of that fact. The reality of this film is that if you’re a teen, you already know that people like Evie Zamora and Tracy exist. You see them walking down the halls of your school everyday but now, after seeing Thirteen, you’re more aware of them, what they represent to you and your life as you know it.

==Written by Reginald Williams==

==From: Film-Book dot Com==

I had no idea what to expect when upon first viewing of this film. I walked away with my

mouth slack jawed and in a state of shock. Wow, if this is what the world is like for

teenagers these days, I’m going to lock up my son in the house until he’s thirty! I thought

things were bad enough in my day, I was wrong, its far worse! Unsettling to say the least,

very unsettling. I weep for the future generations in this country if this is normal. I

don’t think it is but one never knows.

It is hard to believe that this film is based on true events, and the script is co written

by a thirteen year old who is also in the film, Nikki Reed. She plays the evil manipulator

Evie, the opposite role from her real life experience. The film is about how far down the

wrong side of the tracks one can go as a teenager, all because of a desire to be popular

among ones peers. The main character, Tracy, at the start is an innocent young teenager,

seen as an outcast at her school and has trouble coping with her everyday stresses. She

gradually goes wild descending down a steep slope into a world involving shoplifting, drugs,

booze, sex and self mutilation.

Tracy is portrayed well by an up and coming young actress Evan Rachel Wood, we will be

seeing more of her in the future. Her character slowly goes so out of control she loses her

grip on the steering wheel of her life. Before she was a model student, the goodie two

shoes who still plays with dolls. Now she is a tongue pierced, drunk and high foul mouthed

thief with no respect for anyone, even her poor mom. I could not watch the scenes where she

hides in the bathroom and cuts herself, it was too much for me.

She is not helping herself by befriending who she thinks is the most popular girl in

school, Evie (Nikki Reed). By nature she is the master manipulator, and can get many people

to do what she wants for them. She is the catalyst for getting Tracy started, and attaches

herself to Tracy’s life like a tick and begins to suck the life out of her. Tracy ends up

the loser in this battle for who can out do one another, as she is eventually blamed once

the ’stash’ has been found. The adults in this film are blind as to who the real

troublemaker is.

Tracy’s mother is portrayed by Oscar winner (and nominated for this film) actress Holly

Hunter. She just can’t keep up with Tracey, and has no idea how much trouble she is getting

into. Melanie has enough problems in her life. She is divorced, is taking care of her two

teenage kids, trying to make ends meet giving haircuts. But her friends keep dropping in on

her to stay at the home for whatever reason and her boyfriend (Jeremy Sisto) is a crack

addict. Doesn’t make for a happy home does it? Tracy is always in her face, calling her a

loser but in the end, Melanie is her savior and defender. Holly gives us an excellent and

moving performance in this role, showing a strong, complex, emotional female character.

The DVD package for this film is a flipper. One side is the widescreen edition and the

other is fullscreen. Not all of the same extras are on both sides, but the commentary

tracks are. Its annoying to have to eject the disc to watch the other extras on the DVD.

The film is shot mostly hand held and looks grainy, they were going for a more gritty

documentary style, which makes for a furiously paced film. The story moves quickly, thanks

to the quick MTV like editing and the use of loud hip hop and punk music sound track. Ah

the sound of youth. Anyways, there are a few extras included on here, but not much. The one

side has a lengthy section on deleted scenes with commentary, which didn’t seem to explain

much. Also included is the standard promotional materials, trailers and making of

documentary.

On the whole I enjoyed this film, its a definite eye opener. This is not an easy film to

watch, but one that should be seen none the less if you have no preconceived notions of

today’s American teenager. This one is good for a rental.



== Dvd-Dweeb.com ==

== www.dvd-dweeb.com ==

A gut-wrenching portrait of adolescence, Thirteen is made all the more powerful because it was co-written by a genuine teenage girl, Nikki Reed, who also co-stars in the movie. Tracy (Evan Rachel Wood), a serious good student, finds herself needing to express her anger and resentment at her fractured family life. To rebel, she pursues a friendship with the reckless, alluring Evie (Reed), who seems to have all the cocksure freedom that Tracy desires. What follows is both harrowing and compelling: Tracy becomes enmeshed in a relationship with Evie that empowers Tracy and drags her deeper into the misery she wants to escape--and terrifies her mother (Holly Hunter), who struggles desperately to hold on to her daughter's love. Thirteen makes every step on this path utterly convincing, due to the vivid script, energized direction, and astonishingly alive performances from Hunter, Reed, and especially Wood. Jolting, sad, and mesmerizing. --Bret Fetzer