Thirteen | Review

Disturbing portrait offers more than just a view on teenage angst.

When Madonna frolicked around on a gondola it sent waves of panic to mothers everywhere, in today’s world, advertisers aided by half-dressed Britney look-alikes blend the lines between childhood and adulthood and continue to toy with identity and self-image of youth. This teenage drama expertly co-written by a thirteen year-old (yes, you heard right!) who stars in a film that illustrates the pressures to be cool and to assimilate showing that the path to find one’s self in a sometimes dysfunctional world can be quite the challenge. Going into a territory that goes way past the first kiss stage and into Larry Clark Kids avenue this portrait is like a gentle punch to the gut with a long awaited glass of warm milk type of ending

Catherine Hardwicke’s directorial debut could single-handedly make future mothers think twice about having a child. With a shaky guerrilla cinematic style in digital video quality the viewer is put into every intense moment, from arguments galore to a couple of memorable “piercing” moments. Opening with a Mike Tyson-copied fight using a compressed air duster showing two troubled girls engaging in one mindless activity after another, it reveals every bad thing a kid could do but also underlines the sometimes lack of family support in these young lives. Actress Evan Rachel Wood (S1mone) rocks the house with the role of a confused and cohered young seventh grader who eagerly wants to match with the cool crowd, which is brilliantly explained in one sequence that shows her and her counterpart sizing up each other’s body ornaments piece by piece. Nikki Reed who might have a lesser role but plays the largest part of the picture since she co-wrote the picture which is based on her experiences plays Evie the type of girl that would be in some circles unfortunately referred to as a hoochie mama. Nailing down the single-parent mother with Frances McDormand’s character in Laurel Canyon appeal is Holly Hunter (Levity) who gives the film a dramtic and edgy backbone, however, her nudity was not needed in showing her character’s candor.

What the film looks like and what is shown are two benefiting factors in this film. Hardwicke whose career up to this point was as a production designer, shows that she knows her stuff by centering most of the drama in a rundown shambled apartment which is an oasis for family disputes. It becomes somewhat of a challenge to dispose of the narrative trip from the good girl to bad apple persona which elaborates too much at times by showing us that society sells t-shirts with the words porn and star or jeans with many holes in them will lead to a tragedy finale. Thankfully, the discarded youth issue is so charged that we forget about the one thousand and one bad things a teenager can do thus avoiding the complete after school special lecture.

This year saw Loach’s accurate teenage survival account in Sweet Sixteen, and now Thirteen continues to drive that message home of families needing to take care of their kids and not the other way around. In some circles this could be called a horror film, but this in some regards should be recommended viewing for families that will one day have to deal with these issues and on that note after watching this drama a hug is very much recommended.

Rating 3 stars