Review: Thirteen (***)

THIRTEEN
A film review by Steve Rhodes

Copyright 2003 Steve Rhodes

RATING (0 TO ****): ***


Since THIRTEEN contains many memorable performances and is based on a
gut-wrenching, true story, it is such a shame that director Catherine
Hardwicke almost sinks her own film by her obsession with all of the bad
tricks of digital video. The obfuscatory THIRTEEN pans so wildly and so
obsessively that's it hard to follow the action. The grainy, washed-out
images have all of the warmth and appeal of an ad in an old magazine left
out in the sun. In order to pump up the edginess factor, the director
insists on fast, choppy editing, which is such a waste, as the characters
have so much to say to us.



The story is about a new seventh grader who is making the transition from
Barbies to sex, drugs and stealing, thanks to the miracles of peer pressure.
Evan Rachel Wood, seen recently and impressively as an innocent 12-year-old
girl in LITTLE SECRETS, plays a 13-year-old would-be woman named Tracy, who
is throwing her life away as fast as she can.



Wanting nothing more than to be popular, Tracy sets her sights on hanging
out with the slightly older Evie, her school's top hottie. Evie, a bisexual
devil, is played by Nikki Reed, who co-wrote the script with the director.
In real-life, Reed was Tracy. Both young actresses deliver sterling
performances, as does Holly Hunter, who plays Tracy's mother, Melanie. Mel,
who has problems of her own, would like to be a good mother but suffers from
a bad case of blindness and naiveté when it comes to observing what is
happening to her daughter. Tracy cuts herself nightly in the family's one
bathroom, does all kinds of drugs in her room from snorting cocaine to
huffing inhalants, has sex with boys whom she has just met and steals things
just to impress her friends. Her mother remains basically oblivious of all
of this for months until she is forced to see it.



If you've got teenagers, especially girls, the movie will probably prove far
scarier that this week's other release, JEEPERS CREEPERS 2. When I was able
to ignore the oppressively pseudo-artistic approach of the video camera
operator, I was quite moved by the story. But the movie could -- and
should -- have been much better.



THIRTEEN runs 1:40. It is rated R for "drug use, self destructive violence,
language and sexuality - all involving young teens" and would be acceptable
for older teenagers.



The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, August 29, 2003.
In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the Camera Cinemas.



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