Directed by Catherine Hardwicke
Written by Catherine Hardwicke, Nikki Reed
Starring Evan Rachel Wood, Nikki Reed, Holly Hunter
Release Date August 20th, 2003
Published December 30th, 2003
I have a niece who just turned thirteen. Recently she's become moody, narcissistic and vain. Your basic, everyday teenager. She wants to pierce her ears in more than one spot, she wants a tongue ring and a belly ring and talks incessantly about boys at school, including a guy who she met who has a car. The thought of that boy and his car is more frightening than any horror film that I've ever scene.
Now having seen a film called Thirteen about a girl who looks and acts uncannily like my niece, I can't imagine a horror film that could approach what I saw in this first time feature from director Catherine Hardwicke.
Evan Rachel Wood stars as Tracy, a high school outcast until she meets a friend who changes her life. Her name is Evie (Nikki Reed) and she is the most popular girl in school. Evie is also a troubled girl from a broken home who steals, smokes and has more sexual experience than a thirteen year old girl should have. Tracy, also from a broken home, is attracted to Evie's freedom and envious of the attention lavished on her from everyone, including her younger brother Mason (Brady Corbett).
Evie herself envies Tracy's relationship with her mother Mel (Holly Hunter), so envious that eventually she starts calling Mel “Mom” and nearly moves in with the family. Evie's own home is with her flighty cousin Brook (Debra Kara Unger), a model/bartender with an addiction to plastic surgery. It's not hard to see why Evie has such a screwed up sense of self and why she projects so much love on Mel and Tracy.
As the friendship progresses, so does the teen’s experimentation in destructive behavior. While Evie seeks Mel's love and approval, Tracy has begun rebelling against her mom. Mel doesn't help matters by taking up with a former boyfriend, Brady (Jeremy Sisto), who's drug problem and abusive behavior are some of the seeds of Tracy's discontent. The kettle boils over with the reappearance of her absentee father played by D.W Moffat in an effective cameo.
Catherine Hardwicke began her career as a production designer on the film Laurel Canyon. In her first time helming a picture, Hardwicke utilizes her skills as a production designer to create a very intimate, even claustrophobic atmosphere. The subject matter is real and substantive, helped greatly by Hardwicke's co-writer Nikki Reed. It was the thirteen year old Reed, the daughter of a friend, that inspired the story of Thirteen. Searching for a way to help the thirteen year old Reed get back on track after being on the rebellious end of this same story, Hardwicke helped Reed write the screenplay that became the film.
Reed's contributions give gravity to the story. But the scariest part of Thirteen is what we in the audience bring to the story in terms of our own experiences. Everyone has a younger sister, or niece or cousin who went through similar experiences with drugs or alcohol or sex. My sister lived a good portion of this film and my newly teenaged niece is showing a rebellious side recently.
Evan Rachel Wood also brings real life experience to Thirteen. Wood was thirteen years old when she shot this film and her looks and attitude fit the character perfectly. Wood knows this rebellion, though to what extent is something only her family is aware of. Her performance is a revelation and the announcement of a real talent to watch. As for Nikki Reed, the first time actress gives a good account of herself opposite this group of veteran actors.
Finally, there’s Holly Hunter who has been skirting the edges of mainstream Hollywood for a number of years. Hunter seems to be at a point in her career where she can work when she wants and on what she wants. Her performance is passionate and heartbreaking and she is most deserving of her Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. This is Hunter's best performance since her 1988 Oscar nomination for Broadcast News.
It's been a renaissance recently for female filmmakers with directors such as Lisa Cholodenko, Rebecca Miller, Alison Anders and Sophia Coppola each making magnificent films. Add Catherine Hardwicke to that list. Thirteen is a terrific debut and Hardwicke is a director with a very bright future.
