FILM-FORWARD.COMReviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
Directed by: Catherine Hardwicke. Produced by: Jeffrey Levy-Hinte & Michael London. Written by: Hardwicke & Nikki Reed. Director of Photography: Elliot Davis. Edited by: Nancy Richardson. Music by: Mark Mothersbaugh. Released by: Fox Searchlight. Country of Origin: USA. 95 min. Rated: R. With: Holly Hunter, Evan Rachel Wood & Nikki Reed. DVD Special Features: Commentary with Catherine Hardwicke, Nikki Reed, Evan Rachel Wood & Brady Corbet. Seleted Scenes with Optional Commentary. Outtakes. A Making-of Featurette. Two Easter eggs. Wide-screen. Full-screen. English, French, Spanish Audio. English/Spanish Subtitles. Trailer.
Thirteen follows the four-month transformation of Tracy (Wood), 13, from a
shy, studious girl still playing with stuffed animals and Barbie dolls to an
insolent and angry party girl who has grown up too fast, too soon.
Determined to have the respect of the in-crowd, she wins over “the hottest
chick in school” Evie (Reed), by wearing the right clothes and further
impressing her by stealing a loaded wallet. Tracy and Evie then bond during
a shopping spree. Makeover complete, Tracy revels in her newfound sexual
power, avoids her former friends, and, encouraged by Evie, drinks, does
drugs, gets pierced and fools around with boys. It's only a matter of time until the crash comes. What is puzzling is that her youthful
mother (Hunter), who attends Alcoholics Anonymous and whose boyfriend
is an ex-addict, could be so completely in the dark about Tracy’s
behavior. Comparisons are inevitable to Blue Car, which also features a
poetic, lonely girl of a single mother longing for an absent father. While
the actions of Blue Car’s heroine are ambiguous and nuanced, Tracy’s
course follows a predictable downward trajectory. Though both Wood and
Reed have charisma and are more than at home in front of the camera,
Thirteen’s style overwhelms the subject matter: the in-your-face hand-held
camera work, which pans and roams, vacillating like the moods of the
petulant girls; the washed-out cinematography; and the blasting soundtrack. Because of
this, Thirteen, like many teenage fads, will soon seem dated. KT
DVD Extras: Nikki Reed, Evan Rachel Wood and Catherine Hardwicke dominated the insightful commentary,
and it is interesting to hear the young actresses’ perceptions and explanations juxtaposed with
those of the first-time director. The commentary is energetic and fun, somewhat odd to hear over
the film itself. Discrete symbolism is pointed out and production notes are added, such as the fact
that the film was shot almost entirely with a hand-held camera. The deleted scenes are perhaps
the most intriguing of the special features. Each scene must have been hard to edit, as they are all
beautifully acted and do fill some gaps in character development.Lisette Johnson
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