THIRTEEN Rating: (out of 5 stars) Director: Catherine Hardwicke Producers: Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, Michael London Writers: Catherine Hardwicke, Nikki Reed Director of Photography: Elliot Davis Cast: Evan Rachel Wood, Nikki Reed, Holly Hunter, Jeremy Sisto Visit the IMDB page for full cast and crew

More 2003 LA Film Festival reviews.

Review by: Warren Curry
6/14/03

On the surface, Catherine Hardwicke's Thirteen shares more than a bit in common with the films of Larry Clark (Kids, Bully). The depiction of apparently ordinary teenagers (and very young teens in this case) engaging in all sorts of alarming behavior -- from drug use to sexual experimentation to various forms of sadomasochism -- would seemingly stamp these movies with the tag of exploitation. With Clark's films, the description applies -- but the filmmaker is a master of such sensational and visceral storytelling that he can get it away with it and then some. Thirteen, on the other hand, isn't a movie that's content just to shine a light on this behavior and then let the viewer make of it what they will. There's a discernible philosophical platform from where Hardwicke tells this tale.

Set in suburban Los Angeles, 13-year-old Tracy (Evan Rachel Wood) has just entered middle school, and of paramount importance to her in this new phase of life is, predictably, being popular. Tracy's the traditional "good girl," but she learns from day one in her new environment that this image will leave you at the bottom of the social pile. Evie (Nikki Reed) is the reigning "hottest girl in school," and it doesn't take Tracy long to figure out that aligning herself with the girl can only help in her quest to be among the school's social elite.

Being accepted by Evie and her circle is not just a matter of wearing the right clothes or having the correct hairstyle. Evie is a drug user/dealer, a thief, and an aggressively controlling, manipulative person -- to be Evie's friend you have to talk the talk and walk the walk. Tracy undergoes a total personality/image makeover, devolving from every parent's dream child to a beyond disruptive presence in her family. Her single mother, Mel (Holly Hunter), a recovering alcoholic, runs a home hair salon to (just barely) pay the bills, and while she tries her best, is totally incapable of handling Tracy. She gets no help from her ex-husband whose new job always has him on the go, and her current boyfriend, Brady (Jeremy Sisto), also has drug abuse problems in his past and is treated with utter contempt by Tracy. Tracy and Evie become destructively inseparable, as Mel even allows Evie to move in with them for a short time.

Despite all of the chaotic elements, there's a clear moral center to this film. At its heart, Thirteen is an examination, not only of the natural dangers of growing up dangerously impressionable (difficult not to relate to), but of the ever-changing dynamic of the parent/child relationship in a time where we're firmly steeped in the single-parent family. There's an undeniably titillating element to the very frank rendering of Tracy and Evie's over-the-edge conduct, and it would be very convenient to dismiss this film as one that's main goal is to shock, if it weren't for the comprehensiveness and tenderness with which Hardwicke handles Tracy and Mel's relationship.

Anchored by a phenomenal (to say nothing of brave) performance by Evan Rachel Wood (Little Secrets, Simone) and the typically stellar Holly Hunter, the tragic disintegration of the mother/daughter bond is by far the aspect of Thirteen which resonates most deeply. While it would have been easy, and understandable given the character sketch, to just make Mel an absentee parent, the woman is constructed as exactly the opposite. Mel wishes to be heavily involved in her daughter's life, but is at a loss as to how to authoritatively respond as Tracy gradually spirals downward. Mel's love for her daughter is blind, and when the obvious signs of her daughter's corruption begin to mount, she refuses to wholly acknowledge them. There are too many demons in her own life that Mel will most likely always be struggling to overcome.

A veteran production designer on such films as Vanilla Sky and Three Kings, Hardwicke's visual style is bold, predominantly using a hand-held camera punctuated with splashes of desaturation. There are times when the film, with its foot-to-the-floor pace, threatens to burst at the seams, but the well-drawn characters written by both Hardwicke and star Nikki Reed (who penned the script when she was only 13) have depth and feel organic. It's revealing to see that while Evie and Tracy aspire so intensely to be older than their age, occasionally their actions are a dead giveaway for their youth. Wood's angelic, innocent face ideally represents the perfect clay for the somewhat harder looking Reed to mold.

Thirteen is a strong directorial debut for Catherine Hardwicke. It's a work that at first glance seems to rely solely on appearances, but a look beneath the surface clearly exposes the film's genuine substance.

(Screened at the 2003 Los Angeles Film Festival)

(A Fox Searchlight release. Opens in New York and Los Angeles on August 20, 2003.)

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