At first, it seemed to me that 'Thirteen' was advocating dangerous adolescent behaviour, but by the movie's end, I realised that it tries to steer teens away from bad habits by showing them the harsh consequences of mixing with the wrong crowd. The m... (read more) At first, it seemed to me that 'Thirteen' was advocating dangerous adolescent behaviour, but by the movie's end, I realised that it tries to steer teens away from bad habits by showing them the harsh consequences of mixing with the wrong crowd. The movie is about a thirteen year-old girl, Tracy, whose life takes a turn for the worst when she begins to associate with one of the school's most popular girls, Evie. We see Tracy's life fall to pieces in a downward spiral of events. Together, her and Evie smoke marijuana, shoplift, pursue sexual relationships and get piercings, among other things. It's a tragic tale, and often hard to watch. I certainly found it hard to watch two young girls derive enjoyment from hitting each other across the face while high on gas duster. Evan Rachel Wood and Nikki Reed are frighteningly believable as Tracy and Evie, though the best performance is from Holly Hunter, who plays Tracy's financially struggling mother. As an audience, we can feel her pain as she can do nothing but look on as her daughter tears her life to ruins. What's strange about 'Thirteen' is how the scenes that are harder to watch are actually the best scenes in the film. 'Thirteen' is driven by raw emotion; to be honest, the film wouldn't be much without it. One criticism is that the camera moves too fast throughout the movie, which makes for an uncomfortable viewing. Then again, this style complements the uncomfortable nature of the film.

I watched this movie because I intended to offer it to my 13-year-old daughter but ... I think I will offer her something else!
Her life is still so quiet and "clean", it looks like a 6-year-old one compared to the teenagers in the movie!!! And I am ... (read more) I watched this movie because I intended to offer it to my 13-year-old daughter but ... I think I will offer her something else!
Her life is still so quiet and "clean", it looks like a 6-year-old one compared to the teenagers in the movie!!! And I am not eager to see her become like that.

I could probably write a book about this film but I wont. Instead I'll just say don't allow insane teens to run a household. And don't allow insane people to run the world. But yeah, this is a pretty good film that felt a lot like a documentary. Very... (read more) I could probably write a book about this film but I wont. Instead I'll just say don't allow insane teens to run a household. And don't allow insane people to run the world. But yeah, this is a pretty good film that felt a lot like a documentary. Very unique and memorable.

Really hard to watch, but still incredible.

Good acting, but a bit too much whining from Evan Rachel Wood. Interesting insight though.

A rather basic tale about the perils of going along with the in-crowd and the extremes to which teenagers will act out for attention.

The movie is a descendant of 1950s juvenile- delinquent melodramas, but it has a chilling emotional authenticity.

Thirteen is not a pleasant experience, but it resonates with truth in all of its details.

Wood is superb at delineating Tracy's slide into desperate incoherence, but equally impressive is Reed, who has to conceal her writer's intelligence in playing a character who's entirely instinctive and unreflective.

Sets a technical problem that seems insoluble, and meets it brilliantly, finding convincing performances from its teenage stars. showing a parent who is clueless but not uncaring, and a world outside that bedroom window that has big bad wolves.