Thirteen (2003)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Catherine Hardwicke

Writers:

Catherine Hardwicke (written by) &
Nikki Reed (written by)

Release Date:

7 November 2003 (Greece)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

It's happening so fast.

Plot:

A thirteen-year-old girl's relationship with her mother is put to the test as she discovers drugs, sex, and petty crime in the company of her cool but troubled best friend.

Plot Keywords:

Teenage Girl | 13 Year Old | Overachiever | Reference To Frankenstein | LSD

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 13 wins & 34 nominations

Cast

Evan Rachel Wood	...	Tracy Louise Freeland
Nikki Reed	...	Evie Zamora
Vanessa Hudgens	...	Noel
Holly Hunter	...	Melanie 'Mel' Freeland
Brady Corbet	...	Mason Freeland
Ulysses Estrada	...	Rafa
Sarah Blakely-Cartwright	...	Medina
Jenicka Carey	...	Astrid
Sarah Clarke	...	Birdie
Jasmine Di Angelo	...	Kayla
Tessa Ludwick	...	Yumi
Kip Pardue	...	Luke
CeCe Tsou	...	Businesswoman (as Cece Tsou)
Jeremy Sisto	...	Brady
Jamison Yang	...	Science Teacher

MPAA:

Rated R for drug use, self destructive violence, language and sexuality - all involving young teens.

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish | Portuguese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | South Korea:18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA (re-rating on appeal) | Australia:R (original rating) | Brazil:16 | Canada:18A | Chile:14 | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-15 | France:-16 | Germany:12 (bw) | Japan:R-15 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Mexico:C | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:M18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of the Grisons) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

5123 Babcock Avenue, Valley Village, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Michael London Productions

Trivia:

Eliza Smith wrote the poem that Tracy recites in the beginning of the film.

Goofs:

Continuity: The contents of Tracy's garbage can when she throws out her socks at the beginning of the film.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Tracy: Hit me. I'm serious, I can't feel anything, hit me! Again, do it harder! I can't feel anything, this is awesome!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005)

Soundtrack:

Mas

Be prepared for an unusual, unsettling, and unforgettable movie.

If you are planning to have children, don't see this film. It is so depressingly effective you might decide against children rather than attempt to deal with a 13-year-old daughter. So difficult is Tracy (Evan Rachel Wood), who is a former good girl under the influence of a worldly slut Evie (Nikki Reed, also co-writer), that she is painful to watch as she descends into the pit of drugs, sex, and adult bashing.

Tracy's mom, Mel (played with trailer-trash perfection by Holly Hunter), runs a baby-sitting service to supplement whatever other income she can gain. After one set of parents and children leaves, she exclaims, "A $2 tip, and they ate half the lasagna." Hunter's ragged resignation reveals the almost-hysterical responsibilities she has, and that's not counting the trouble Evie is bringing to the household.

First-time director Catherine Hardwicke, formerly a production designer for `Three Kings' and `Vanilla Sky,' is successful in creating a sense of runaway chaos by skillfully using a hand-held camera, disorienting tracking, and washed-out shots. She is less successful in keeping the narration flowing, relying on anecdotal storytelling that feels episodic rather than unified. Also, the accumulation of tragic turns, while undoubtedly true in more instances than I could know, is too much for my aesthetic appreciation. True though the events may be, there are too many in too short a time.

Critics cite by comparison films like Lucas Moodysson's first feature, `Show Me Love' (Otherwise titled `Fucking Amal'), where the lesbian relationship between its 2 teenagers makes the story eccentric rather than universal. In `Thirteen' the lesbian tendencies are played down, but there is no escaping the application of fear and loathing for almost all who experience the teenage years in its many other experimenting forms.

Jane Erskine Stuart said, `In no order of things is adolescence the time of the simple life.' `Thirteen' will leave you wondering how a simple life could ever evolve after those tumultuous years. Be prepared for an unusual, unsettling, and unforgettable movie.