Thirteen

Rating:
Summary: Hard to forget it¿s only a film
Review: 'Thirteen' is scarily graphic, and scarily realistic. This is one of the rare films that can really draw you into the movie, and make you feel like you're involved in the film, instead of just watching from the comfort of your own home. It's easy to guess from the title, that it's a story about a thirteen-year-old, who consequently goes off the rails. Personally, I don't think I ever went through the whole teenage rebellion, going off the rails. I think the worst I've ever done, is get a tattoo, and even then I was the legal age limit, plus, since I couldn't get anyone to accompany me, I had to confess all to my mum, and she accompanied me!

My mum and me actually sat and watched this together - she didn't need much persuasion, and she really enjoyed it. If you're a teenage girl, watching this with your mum, then it's a real eye-opener. When you're thirteen, you think you can do anything and be anybody. When you're watching this, you'll find yourself identifying with the characters, thinking "what if . . ." Thinking if you'd found different friends in high school, it might have changed the person you are now. Or if you'd changed your friends in high school, or all that kind of thing. It makes you think a lot, especially when you're a person who has been nearly four years out of high school.

Of course, this is based in a US high school, around a US lifestyle, but the characters are no different than the characters you'd find in any school, anywhere in the world. There's a few American-isms in this, which changes things, but then you'd find Trace (Evan Rachel Wood) or Evie (Nikki Reed) in any high school.

It's hard to believe when you look at Evan Rachel Wood and Nikki Reed (who superbly co-wrote the story) that they're supposed to be playing thirteen-year-olds. They look lots older, and as Nikki says in the 'making of' feature, there are lots of thirteen-year-olds, that look like they're eighteen, so they can do more things, that they're not legally supposed to be doing. I know many girls from high school, that are now going about pushing prams, which is a scary thought. But to watch this film, and see drugs, drinking, having underage sex, girls teaching each other to kiss, shoplifting, self-harming . . . the list goes on. And all in the short space of four months. The self-harming is definitely not for the faint-hearted. It's not too bad to start with, when Trace just uses the point of scissors. But when she can't find them, she uses a razor blade, and I could not watch that scene.

Holly Hunter is fantastic as Trace's mum, who can't stop her daughter going off the rails. She's 46, and it must have taken a lot of guts to go almost full frontal in this film for her. She's managed to keep herself in great shape for a 46-year-old, but I couldn't do that!

Some of the camera work is absolutely amazing, and some of the scenes are very well lit, especially when it's a very poignant or shocking scene, and sometimes they appear to be almost black and white.

When children go off the rails, the press and anyone around them will instantly blame the parents. Oh, they came from a bad background, all that kind of thing. What people don't understand is that people can come from a good background, and still go off the rails. But in this movie, Holly Hunter's character of Melanie is portrayed as the bad one, and the one that has made Trace rebel. Trace's dad isn't really on the scene (he appears once during the film, and doesn't really give a damn about his daughter, or his ex-wife is gradually getting to the end of her tether), and her mum is constantly seen smoking, or in bed with a younger man. And Evie eventually ends up staying over so much, that she practically becomes part of the family. It did get a bit confusing, cos Evie could have been calling Mel by her name or "Mum" - both words sound too similar, and Evie could have been calling Mel "Mum".

What I was expecting to see and didn't, was one of the characters getting pregnant. This would have topped this film off, although it probably would have ended differently, if that had happened. This could have easily happened; judging by the fact the amount of young mums going around with babies is getting scarily high. The amount of teenage pregnancies in the UK is higher than anywhere else in the world, although I can't really apply that to this movie, as it's American!

This film is like a whirlwind, and will leave you breathless at the end. It's definitely re-watchable, despite being too realistic. Every teenager should see this film, with their mums or alone. Maybe it will stop other teenagers ending up on the streets or pregnant and alone, cos the father can't be bothered to stay around. Although I doubt it. This is just skimming the top of what really goes on in teenagers' lives. What would be really scary is if you find yourself identifying with the lead characters. That's a major wake-up call.

Rating:
Summary: Great Movie, but don't buy the DVD
Review: Compared to the movie I saw at the theater, the DVD is poor quality and missing information in both the widescreen and full screen versions. I'm surprised the director let this happen to such a great film.

If you missed it at the theater, go rent the VHS tape, but don't buy the DVD unless and until a director's cut becomes available.

Rating:
Summary: Best movie I've seen in years, by far
Review: I'll have to admit, the only reason I ever dreamt of renting this movie was because of the great reviews I kept reading about it. The critics, who can sometimes be a bit biased, we right on the money here. I'll have to say, Thirteen was one of the best movies I've seen in recent years. The acting was so good, that at times, I swore it was real. The storyline jumped around a little bit, and sometimes you really didn't know what was going on, but it all came together perfectly in the end.

I see no reason why this movie shouldn't have won "Best Picture". It's that good.

Rating:
Summary: A Depressing World
Review: This movie is a depressing tribute to the teenage world of drugs, sex, and life. It's not one of those movies to be tied up in a neat little pink bow at the end. It is raw (maybe too raw at times), heartwrenching, but mostly just depressing. It reveals the teenage world and the "pressures" and problems that accompany it. Although this movie was beautifully acted and really is an example of a "real movie", some aspects are not fully developed. For instance, Holly Hunter's boyfriend (was he?) was introduced with a drug background that never truly came into play during the rest of the story, unless of course Evan Rachel Wood's character was yelling at him. Other little things felt somewhat undeveloped, but as a whole this was a very good movie that was mostly enjoyable

Rating:
Summary: Packs a Punch
Review: "Thirteen" begins with literal punches being thrown--best friends Tracy and Evie are slugging each other to prove how numb they are from the huffing they've been doing in Tracy's bedroom--and continues with an unrelenting aggressiveness until its penultimate, quiet moment.

I don't have any children myself, and my teenage years were nothing like what's depicted on screen here, but I have a cold feeling in the pit of my stomach that "Thirteen" is not as over the top as some would like to believe. I only hope parents are watching this film, though as is typical, movies like this preach to the choir, and those who should be seeing them aren't.

This film is visceral in the same way "Requiem for a Dream" is, though Catherine Hardwicke keeps a tighter rein on her project than Darren Aronofsky did his. She indulges in some of the same stylistic excesses--the frenzied camera work, the digitized color, the pounding soundtrack--but they don't overwhelm her actors. And indeed, it's the actors who deserve the lion's share of praise for this film. Evan Rachel Wood absolutely astounds as Tracy. I know vaguely of the T.V. show she starred in, but I wouldn't have been able to pick her out of a crowd before seeing her here. Her performance is raw and scary--I don't know what real-life resources this young actress is drawing from, but she convinced me that she was a teenager teetering on the brink of disaster. Nikki Reed, who co-wrote the screenplay, is very good as well, but has a decidedly more supporting, less involved role. And Holly Hunter, a reliable veteran, delivers the goods as well as Tracy's mom. Her final emotional show-down with Tracy is one of the most affecting coups de theatre I saw this year.

Hardwicke's use of enhanced color is unnecessary and distracting---it's too obvious and stylized and blunts the effects of the film's realistic approach. Ditto the MTV editing style---at times this movie looks like a Noxzeema commercial from Hell. This is obviously intentional---we are meant to understand that these girls are only trying to live up to expectations places upon them by an all-pervading consumer culture that demands perfection. But I wouldn't have minded a more subtle approach to those conclusions--I don't need them crammed down my throat. However, as I said, this quality might ruin a lesser film, but doesn't this one because of its phenomenal performances and genuine commitment to the tragic story it wants to tell.

Grade: A

Rating:
Summary: Certainly not a 'date' movie by any stretch ......
Review: Thirteen is one of those rare films that slaps you in the face and tells you to pay attention because 'there for the grace of God' could go you or your kids ....

Of course reality does have a tendency to creep in. I mean what do you expect from a dysfunctional family in the throes of trying their darndest to overcome drug or alcohol addiction. Did you expect the kids to be knitting sweaters while mom bakes golden crips apple pies. I think not!

Thirteen takes a young, grade seven, thirteen (of course) year old girl, Tracy, as she decides to leave aside her teddy bears and fall into the trap of conforming to 'hip' peer pressure. The problem for Tracy is that to get that peer approval she yearns for requires her to let one of the newfound friends, Evie, to latch on. Evie, practically moves into Tracy's house while begins to spin her hedonistic web around her new victim 'de jour' ...... Evie of course is no more and no less than one of the world great users and leeches ......

In a matter of months Tracy's life begins to unravell before our eyes as she now drinks, steals, does drugs, looses her virginity, lies, cheats, fails in school ...... and last but no least begins body piercing, tatooing and self mutilation with half hearted attemps to get attention by trying to commit suicide....

Yes quite a busy four months of the first semester in grade seven I might add ...

The good thing about the movie is that is does not preach nor does it really present any solutions to the problems of this girl or the family ....... but, certainly be prepared to suffer while you watch this family unravelling right before your eyes ....

Rating:
Summary: Keep all daughters under lock & key.
Review: This movie is so far over the top and so separated from reality I can already tell you want other typical movie watching idiots will say about it:

"Every human on the planet must see this movie.... Its such an important film for our generation of young woman."

Give me a break. I can find more realistic meaning in watching Terminator. Don't waste your time with this one.

I hate when they make movies that are supposed to reflect our culture and yet come as close to realism as I do when I am tripping on acid.

Rating:
Summary: thrirteen? more like 1 star
Review: this movie might as well be the NBC movie of the week, corny storyline and nowhere as nearly controversial as some people made it out to be. iv'e seen more drama from the jerry springer show. (which ain't saying much) if you want to see a more gripping teen flick, rent larry clark's KIDS instead of this turd.

Rating:
Summary: impressive slice-of-life realism
Review: ***1/2 Catherine Hardwicke's harrowingly realistic film "Thirteen" paints an unflinching, unsparing and uncompromising portrait of an American teenager circa 2003.

Evan Rachel Ward, who is 15 in real life, plays Tracy, a fairly ordinary thirteen-year-old girl whose life falls to pieces when she decides she wants to fit in with the "cool" kids at her middle school. This, of course, involves sex, drugs, body piercing, shoplifting, self-mutilation and all the other accoutrements associated with traditional teenage rebellion. Tracy predictably comes from a broken home, although her mother, Mel, played by Holly Hunter, seems like a reasonably caring and open-minded individual, even though, in dress and demeanor, she seems like little more than a teenager herself. It is this lack of a truly adult figure in her life that makes Tracy a perfect candidate for what happens to her.

Hardwicke has provided a raw, close-to-the-bone assessment of teenage values in our modern culture. The film doesn't pretend to speak for all teenagers, of course, but it does speak for a goodly number of them, zeroing in on the kinds of dysfunctional lives so many of them are forced to live through on their path to adulthood. The director never shies away from showing us in graphic detail the realities of Tracy's life, making us see how the need for peer acceptance, an unstable family life and a permissive, valueless society all contribute to the problems children like Tracy face in coming to terms with who they really are.

Wood provides a fully rounded, believable portrait of a young girl in search of her identity and Nikki Reed offers superb support as Evie, the wild and wildly popular girl who puts Tracy on the path to gradual self-destruction. Mel won't be winning any Mother of the Year contests any time soon, but she is a caring person who can't understand what is happening to the daughter she loves. Holly Hunter hits all the right notes in the role, making the mother neither a hero nor a villain, just a recognizable human being.

Hardwicke has chosen to employ a jittery, handheld camera technique which helps to underline the unfiltered reality of the piece. In this, her first film as a director (she has previously been an art director and a production designer), Hardwicke proves herself a talent well worth watching.

"Thirteen" is a grim film on an important topic, one that cries out to be seen - though you may need to watch "Spellbound" as a much needed restorative and antidote immediately afterwards.

Rating:
Summary: Wow... it's amazing
Review: It's funny how accurate this movie was to my life. I was the "unpopular" girl and I became friends with this popular girl. She turned me to drugs and the wilder way of life. And I won't deny it, I had SO much fun. But this movie showed me what it could've turned to if we hadn't gotten in a fight. We WERE on that same exact path. Although my friendship with her wasn't as seriously as Tracy and Evie's, it was close to it. This is my all time favorite movie.